巾帼英雄贞德传 (1896)

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte is an 1896 novel by Mark Twain which recounts the life of Joan of Arc.

The novel is presented as a translation by "Jean Francois Alden" of memoirs by Sieur Louis de Conte, a fictionalized version of Joan of Arc's page Louis de Contes. He has the same initials as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark Twain's real name. The novel is divided into three sections according to Joan of Arc's development: a youth in Domrémy, a commander of the army of Charles VII of France, and a defendant at trial in Rouen. They are entitled "In Domremy", "In Court and Camp", and "Trial and Martyrdom". Its first book publication was in two volumes, with the second part "In Court and Camp" split between Volume 1 and Volume 2. Some modern editions note where Volume 1 leaves off and Volume 2 takes up; others do not.

The novel was first published as a serialization in Harper's Magazine beginning in April 1895. Twain was aware of his reputation as a comic writer and he asked that each installment appear anonymously so that readers would treat it seriously. Regardless, his authorship soon became known, and Harper and Brothers published the book edition with his name in May 1896.

Many events in the novel are fictionalized; however, the main events in the life of Joan are rendered faithfully.

Synopsis

Introduction

The novel begins with "the Translator's Preface"; then follows a short note entitled "A Peculiarity of Joan of Arc's History" also written by "The Translator". Finally, a foreword is presented by "The Sieur Louis de Conte", who represents an actual person in the life of Joan of Arc but here is fictionalized by the author Mark Twain as a childhood playmate of Joan who later serves as her page and secretary. The "Translator's Preface" offers an overview of Joan of Arc's life, with heavy praise: "the character of Joan of Arc ... occupies the loftiest possible to human attainment". The short "Peculiarity" note explains, first, that many actual details about (the long-ago) life of Joan of Arc are uniquely established and known, having been recorded under oath in court documents that are preserved in the National Archives of France; and, that the "mass of added particulars" here are provided by Sieur de Conte, whom, the (fictional) Translator assures us, is reliable.

In the foreword, Twain's fictional Sieur Louis de Conte presents himself in the year 1492—more than 60 years after Joan of Arc's death in 1431—as writing his "Personal Recollections ..." about the life of Joan of Arc and his intimate relation to it: "I was with her from the beginning until the end". Here author Twain assigns his character Sieur de Conte to serve as the first-person narrator of his Joan of Arc story, and perhaps to serve as an alter-ego of the author in that role.

Book One: In Domrémy

Book One begins with the first-person narrator Sieur Louis de Conte relating that he was born on January 6, 1410, in Neufchâteau, France—after his family "...had fled to those distant regions from the neighborhood of Paris in the first years of the century." He relates that Paris was then tormented by mobs, criminals, and other instabilities and that his parents had been persecuted there because they supported the King of France against his enemies the English and Burgundians. Even so, when de Conte was but five, his native village was devastated and his family massacred by a Burgundian raiding party. Now orphaned, he was sent to a small, rural, rudimentary village called Domrémy to live with the parish priest there, (who taught young de Conte to read and write). In that village, he meets the young Joan d’Arc, an illiterate peasant girl who was exactly two years younger than him. Recalling the ordinary times as well as the extraordinary events of Joan's childhood life in Domrémy, de Conte now tells of multiple incidents where Joan is shown to be precocious: the wisest, bravest, most virtuous child in the small village. He details her arguments in defense of the village fairies (made to the priest); also in support of a homeless soldier and of a criminal madman.

In Chapters VI through VIII, de Conte recounts seeing Joan converse with a divine entity, then learning (from her explanation) that she has been chosen by God to "win back France, and set the crown upon the head of His servant that is Dauphin and shall be King." When she publicly announces this mission the local governor and the villagers mock her, and her parents put her under "strict watch." Nonetheless, Joan remains adamant.

At age sixteen Joan is confronted with a lawsuit claiming breach of promise to marry, filed by a delusional youth of the village. She declines to seek legal counsel, electing to conduct her own defense. She adroitly cross-examines the young man, reducing his testimony "rag by rag to ruin," and prompting the judge to throw the complaint out of court.

Book Two: In Court and Camp

Book Two begins with the elimination of Joan's hindrances. With support from her visions, Joan leaves the village at age 17 to request control of the army from the king. In Chapter IX, after Joan successfully defends herself in trial for witchcraft, the king appoints Joan "General-in-Chief of armies."

In Chapter X, Joan begins to organize her campaign, writing a letter to the English commanders at Orléans, demanding they vacate France. The English refuse, and Joan attacks immediately and aggressively despite the generals' and counselors' advice that France remain on the defensive. Through this military campaign, Joan secures several victories over the English. On July 5, the English forces surrender at Rheims, allowing the Bloodless March and coronation of Charles to take place. During the coronation, asked by the king to name her reward for her services to France, Joan requests the taxes on Domremy be remitted.