Mark Twain & Joan of Arc

Mark Twain had a great admiration for Saint Joan of Arc for almost his entire life. As his biographer A.B. Paine explains, Twain’s interest in Joan started one day in Hannibal, Missouri when he was a young man working as a printer’s apprentice:

“He was on his way from the office to his home one afternoon when he saw flying along the pavement a square of paper, a leaf from a book. ... He caught the flying scrap and examined it. It was a leaf from some history of Joan of Arc. The "maid" was described in the cage at Rouen, in the fortress, and the two ruffian English soldiers had stolen her clothes. ... there arose within him a deep compassion for the gentle Maid of Orleans, a burning resentment toward her captors, a powerful and indestructible interest in her sad history. It was an interest that would grow steadily for more than half a lifetime and culminate at last in that crowning work, the Recollections, the loveliest story ever told of that martyred girl”

If you have never read Twain’s great biography Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc then you give it a read. I personally consider it the best fictional account of Joan’s life and you can read the review I wrote about it at: Joan of Arc Book & Movie Reviews

The full book is available online at MaidOfHeaven.com at:

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
or go to the
Table of Contents for Joan of Arc by Mark Twain

Ben D. Kennedy & Joan of Arc

People are constantly asking me how I become interested in Joan of Arc and about why have I devoted so much time and energy to writing a book about her and in creating my large website MaidOfHeaven.com devoted to teaching her true and full history. I provide some insight about my motivations on the home page where I wrote:

People have asked me why I chose to write about Saint Joan of Arc since it seems to some a departure from my normal American based writings. There is much that I can say about how the lessons learned from Saint Joan's life are very relevant to today's American citizen, but the real reason I wrote about her is ultimately much more personal. I find myself feeling similar to the way a great American writer of the nineteenth century felt. Mark Twain, after finishing his own biography about Saint Joan of Arc, said that:
"Possibly the book may not sell, but that is nothing-it was written for love"

You can also find some more details about me on the About the Author page at MaidOfHeaven.com and learn more about the creation process of the book on the page for Maid of Heaven: The Story of Saint Joan of Arc There is also a good Question and Annwer interview I did about both Joan of 'Arc and my book located at Online Interview about Joan of Arc

Deo Vindice,

Ben D. Kennedy