Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc

By: Mark Twain

Narrated by: Robin Field

Regarded by many as the most luminous example of Twain's work, this historical novel chronicles the French heroine's life, as purportedly told by her longtime friend--Sieur Louis de Conte. A panorama of stirring scenes recount Joan's childhood in Domremy, the story of her voices, the fight for Orleans, the splendid march to Rheims, and much more. An amazing record that disclosed Twain's unrestrained admiration for Joan's nobility of character, the book is matchless in its workmanship--one of Twain's lesser-known novels that will charm and delightfully surprise his admirers and devotees.

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Faith to the faithless

This book was first given to me to read during a particularly difficult time in my life. It gave me Faith and strength to get through my troubles. although I thought all the story to be capturing and amazing and told well my favorite parts were the little stories or comments that would make you laugh. Like a sheep wondering how it came to eat a wolf or the uncle riding the bull knocking down the beehive and wrecking a funeral. But truly an amazing story as told by this man's recollections and it makes me desire to learn much more of her history and to visit France and see these places where she lived and fought.

Sublime

I don’t know how anyone can read this book and walk away unchanged. I’ve honored Joan of Arc all my life yet this book did not come to my attention until I was told it was sourced. By sourced I mean (as with much great literature) the writers mind is held in thrall to an invisible force. Not to mention Twains 12 years of influencing research. The book is extremely detailed, personal, and overflowing w reverence and heart.

Mark Twain told the story beautifully

This audiobook drew me in from the very first minutes. I knew little of Joan of Arc and in the last chapters, I shed tears. Wonderful storytelling.

The BEST!

This is one of the very best books I have read/ heard! The interview format makes is intriguing and the content is wonderful! And Mr. Field does well with the French language pronunciation. I would highly recommend this to all fans of St. Joan of Arc and Mr. Twain!

Personal Recollections? Yes... VERY Personal

Mark Twain had a fascination with Joan of Arc and said this was the best novel he ever wrote. Sharing in Twain's fascination, I have to agree with him. You won't find much of Twain's familiar humor, but you will find faith, patriotism, and heroism on a scale that can't help but inspire. Regardless of your own personal views of Joan of Arc, Twain's writing will either make you believe or at least allow you to suspend your disbelief. It's a well-researched story, and some of his conclusions, while controversial in his day, have turned out to be more true than he knew. I would rank this right up there with Margaret George's The Autobiography of Henry VIII.

The narrator takes a little getting used to. It's clearly a badly faked French accent for the character telling the story, and the feminine version he uses for Joan is even worse. It's almost something out of Monty Python. That said, Robin Field does play it straight, and once you get used to the vocals, the power of the story will pull you in. We all know how it ends, but if you're not moved by how well it's told, you have a hard heart indeed.

Spirited narration helped this story come alive!

I was reading a hard copy when I decided to look for an audio version. The story was interesting, I was just struggling to get through it. The spirited narration made this story far more engaging than it otherwise had been as I read quietly to myself.

Wonderful story of selfless love and bravery.

I loved the narration. I saw in the reviews there was some comments about that. His character voices were fine. The story is so compelling and well written (Mark Twain, duh) that the narration is secondary. I wept. It was inspiring.

Exceptional all the way around!

I can not even emphasize how much I enjoyed this book! The narration was perfectly performed. So much so I will seek out other books narrated by him. The writing was excellent, funny, touching and from my understanding quite historically accurate. If I could give this book 20 stars I would do so. It truly is in a class of it's own. If you don't consider yourself a big Mark Twain fan this book is still for you. I didn't really consider myself a Mark Twain reader, I mean he was fine but I wasn't seeking out his books. However, this book was so much better than I thought it would be. I am sad it's over. I want more.

Up Close and Personal

How fleshed out the characters were. It made you feel like you were right there!

AMAZING!!

I literally could not stop listening to this. The story you know the ending to from the beginning, but somehow have hope for her from her dismal end. The story's performance is captivating, I was there right along with her clerks... Definate re-read....(Listen)...