American Literature

The Oxford Companion to American Literature The Oxford Companion to American Literature Further reading

Joan of Arc, Personal Recollections of

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | Copyright

Joan of Arc, Personal Recollections of, fictional biography by Clemens, published in 1896. To conceal his authorship, so that the book might be received without bias, Clemens invented “The Sieur Louis de Conte,” Joan's supposed “page and secretary,” whose work is “freely translated by Jean François Alden.” The biography follows the known facts in the life of the 15th‐century French heroine but amplifies them with several fictional characters and interprets such documents as those relating to the ecclesiastical trial at Rouen in the light of Clemens's lifelong idealistic reverence for “the noble child, the most innocent, the most lovely, the most adorable the ages have produced.” Her traits have been said to resemble those of women in the author's family. Other figures, like the comically boastful Paladin and laughing Noçl Rainguesson, are related to characters in his earlier fiction. In general, the mood is that of serious, although romanticized, history, but there are characteristic Clemens touches in the use of European folklore, humor, and American tall talk.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Joan of Arc, Personal Recollections of." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Joan of Arc, Personal Recollections of." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-JoanofArcPersonlRcllctnsf.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Joan of Arc, Personal Recollections of." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-JoanofArcPersonlRcllctnsf.html

Learn more about citation styles