On the Bookshelf by Nancee Cline
When Mark Twain was growing up, the first biography he ever read was about Joan of Arc. He was enchanted. Forty years later he wrote his own biography of her. Twain considered The Personal Reflections of Joan of Arc to be his finest work.
I suspect that this book is not well known
because of its spiritual content. Twain is famous
for his adventures and his humor, not for
inspirational meditations. Joan, after all, listens
to angels! She is guided by divine wisdom to do
things no girl had ever done before. She is open
and honest, humble and innocent; her story is
beautiful and amazing.
Her life is told from the perspective of Louis de Conte, the scribe who wrote down Joan's letters and testified at her trial. In Twain's story, he is her childhood friend. From him we learn of life in the French countryside, and of a Middle Ages world view that includes fairies and dragons and enchanted trees. We learn of Joan's early kindness to strangers and animals, and of her devotion to God and to France. Her playmates and brothers eventually follow her on her journey, sharing her struggles and rejoicing in her victories. Twain develops them into wonderfully rich and colorful characters; they provide the comic relief in this otherwise serious work.
The Personal Reflections of Joan of Arc was originally published as a serial in Harper's magazine. Although it was published anonymously, Twain's own brand of humor gave him away, and readers eventually recognized his voice. He shares about his writing process:
I have never done any work before that cost so much thinking and weighing and measuring and planning and cramming....The first two thirds of the book were easy; for I only needed to keep my historical road straight....and I shoveled in as much fancywork and invention on both sides of the historical road as I pleased. But on this last third I have consciously used five French sources and five English ones, and I think no telling historical nugget in any of them has escaped me.
The last third of the book is Joan's trial. I don't know why reading transcripts of the trial is not part of Christian education, as it is rich in discussion material. A peasant girl, unable to read or write, is confronted by a host of angry, vindictive, highly educated, verbal gladiators representing the church. Like the pharisees in the Gospels, they try to trick and trap her in their questioning. Like Jesus, she gently side-steps every attempt, turns the questions around, and maintains her innocence. The wise are confounded again and again.
Facing the weakness of the King, the hypocrisy of the church, the silliness of the court, the foolishness of dvisors, the heartbreak of treachery, or the hardships of life on the battle field, Joan remains steadfast, honorable and sweet. The evil around her does not diminish her own goodness. She does not become hardhearted or bitter. Rather she radiates goodness and mercy.
This is an adventure story as well as a
French history lesson. But more than anything, it
is a story of faith. Joan of Arc is a beautiful role
model for us still in our cynical, war-torn world
today. When I was a child, the first biography I
ever read was about Joan of Arc. It was a
children's book, (World Landmark Books) and it
captured my heart. Imagine my pleasure when
forty years later I found Mark Twain's version!
CLICK HERE FOR JUNE 2007 BOOK REVIEW: Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace by Maxine Hong Kingston
CLICK HERE FOR MAY 2007 BOOK REVIEW: WHY I AM A missional + evangelical + post/protestant + liberal/conservative + mystical/poetic + biblical + charismatic/contemplative + fundamentalist/calvinist + anabaptist/anglican + methodist + catholic + green + incarnational + depressedyet-hopeful + emergent + unfinished CHRISTIAN by Brian McLaren
CLICK HERE FOR APRIL 2007 BOOK REVIEW: The Colonyesus by John Tayman
CLICK HERE FOR MARCH 2007 BOOK REVIEW: Christianity for the Rest of Us by Diana Bass
CLICK HERE FOR FEBRUARY 2007 BOOK REVIEW:Dreams from My Father, A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
CLICK HERE FOR JANUARY 2007 BOOK REVIEW: Summary for 2007
CLICK HERE FOR DECEMBER 2006 BOOK REVIEW: The Dream of God by Verna J. Dozier
CLICK HERE FOR NOVEMBER 2006 BOOK REVIEW: Pastwatch, the Redemtion of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scoot Card
CLICK HERE FOR OCTOBER 2006 BOOK REVIEW: Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver
CLICK HERE FOR SEPTEMBER 2006 BOOK REVIEW:The Chosen by Chaim Potok
CLICK HERE FOR AUGUST 2006 BOOK REVIEW: LIrrestible Revolution, living as an ordinary radical: by Shane Claiborne
CLICK HERE FOR JULY 2006 BOOK REVIEW: The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by Thad Carhart; Zen and the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel; Saturday, by Ian McEwan; Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg
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