Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc By The Sieur Louis De Conte Translated By Jean Francois

New York: Harper and Brothers. Very Good-. 1896. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. xiv, 461, (2) ads pages; Contents clean and secure in original red cloth with decorative stamping in gilt and white depicting Joan's sword and shield on the front boards and in outline at the spine; short area of color loss at spine edge of front board (reader's thumb perhaps), lightly rubbed at spine. First edition, First Issue with 1896 date on the title page as well as on the copyright page; Ads on p. 463 have appropriate listings for first and fourth items, including "Vols III and IV, Just Ready" Illustrations by F. V. Dumond. 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". The novel was first published as a serialization in Harper's Magazine beginning in April 1895. Aware of his reputation as a comic writer, Twain asked that the installments appear anonymously so 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; though in this first issue, his name appears on the spine, but not the title page. Many events in the novel are fictionalized; however, the main events in the life of Joan are rendered faithfully. .