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Saint Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain 1919
$125 Publisher: Harper and Brothers
Pages: 32 + xvi + 3 illustrated
Size: 8vo (9.5" x 7")
Condition: Very Good/Poor (Book/Dust jacket)
First Edition (DT), Second State (blank endpapers and an
unintentionally inverted illustration). Very Good, tight copy. The dust jacket
is present but torn and although intact is in poor condition. Beautifully crisp,
bright illustrations by Howard Pyle, including a full color tipped frontispiece
and three full-page illustrations. The body of the text is embellished with
attractive green tinted decorations by Wilfred J. Jones. Each chapter commences
with a decorated capital. The black cloth covered boards and spine are clean and
very little worn. Binding is tight and contents complete. There are no loose,
torn or damaged pages and no inscriptions. The thick, decoratively rough cut
pages show some occasional light foxing.
Comments: Many people don't know that Mark Twain wrote a book
about Joan of Arc, let alone this second, less-known piece of art. This book is
a rare jewel of a find. I've seen it categorized as a children's book, but in my
opinion this isn't at all an accurate category. The book is written with Twain's
obvious devotion and scholarly knowledge extolling the virtues and deeds of
"this most marvelous child". The impeccable writing of Twain seems perfect
amidst the exquisite illustrations and unique sketches upon the margins of each
page. The thick, rough cut pages add to the overall charm of the book, making it
a one-of-a-kind treasure.
Twain sums up Joan's position with great vigor in the preface,
thus, "�Joan of Arc, a mere child in years�found a great nation lying in chains,
helpless and hopeless under alien domination� their King cowed, resigned to its
fate, and preparing to fly the country; and she laid her hand upon this nation,
this corpse, and it rose and followed her. She led it from victory to victory,
she turned the tide of the Hundred Years' War, she fatally crippled the English
power, and died with the earned title of Deliverer of France, which she bears to
this day. And for all reward, the French King, whom she had crowned, stood
supine and indifferent, while French priests took the noble child, the most
innocent, the most lovely, the most adorable the ages have produced, and burned
her alive at the stake."
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