Thank you for watching! Let me know what your favorite version of Joan of Arc is. Joan of Arc by Mark Twain / 826706.joan_of_arc Joan by Katherine J. Chen / joan
I’m so glad you did this! I would (and will) pick the Twain, partly because his track record. Two years ago I read _The Prisoner of Zenda_ - a swashbuckling adventure tale, absolute perfection in its way - and followed it up with Twain’s _The Prince and the Pauper_ which relies on a similar premise. In the end I gave the extra points to Twain because his exhibited the more serious artistic purpose, while his execution was flawless. I wonder if his _Joan_ occupies a similar place in his pantheon as _Romola_ does for Eliot, their one historical drama which entailed years of research. You make both books sound good, but I might be less interested in Joan as a historic figure than just reading a good yarn. 😂
I read The Prince and the Pauper as a kid and really loved it! My parents had a collection of all the works of Mark Twain and I read through quite a bit of it when I was younger. Twain does a great job and telling a story in a fun and clever way so I was really glad I picked it up!
You've inspired me to read both! I think I want to read the Twain first, to get a sense of the legend and myth, which I know very little about. I think one would get more out of "Joan" if already acquainted with the story she is retelling with a modern take. My library has the Chen but not the Twain, but I think I'll wait before I borrow it. This was really interesting, thank you!
Thank you for watching! That is an amazing idea 😊I think it did really add to my enjoyment of the Chen book having read the Twain book first (even though it had been 15+ years) But then re-visiting the Twain book after the Chen was also a fun time
When I was a kid I was totally obsessed with Joan of Arc (I never grew up religious, so in retrospect this is kind of odd). I'm definitely going to pick up Joan for the secular aspect and b/c I'm intrigued by something more character-driven!! Great comparison review!!
I just put the Chen book on hold, but I think I'll get to the Twain book at some point...just out of curiosity! I had no idea that Twain wrote about Joan of Arc!
Yes! I really enjoyed his take on the book 😂 I read quite a bit of Twain when I was younger and remember Joan of Arc being my favorite so at least I agree with his opinion on the book
I’m so glad you did this! I would (and will) pick the Twain, partly because his track record.
Two years ago I read _The Prisoner of Zenda_ - a swashbuckling adventure tale, absolute perfection in its way - and followed it up with Twain’s _The Prince and the Pauper_ which relies on a similar premise. In the end I gave the extra points to Twain because his exhibited the more serious artistic purpose, while his execution was flawless.
I wonder if his _Joan_ occupies a similar place in his pantheon as _Romola_ does for Eliot, their one historical drama which entailed years of research. You make both books sound good, but I might be less interested in Joan as a historic figure than just reading a good yarn. 😂
I read The Prince and the Pauper as a kid and really loved it! My parents had a collection of all the works of Mark Twain and I read through quite a bit of it when I was younger. Twain does a great job and telling a story in a fun and clever way so I was really glad I picked it up!
You've inspired me to read both! I think I want to read the Twain first, to get a sense of the legend and myth, which I know very little about. I think one would get more out of "Joan" if already acquainted with the story she is retelling with a modern take. My library has the Chen but not the Twain, but I think I'll wait before I borrow it. This was really interesting, thank you!
Thank you for watching! That is an amazing idea 😊I think it did really add to my enjoyment of the Chen book having read the Twain book first (even though it had been 15+ years) But then re-visiting the Twain book after the Chen was also a fun time
When I was a kid I was totally obsessed with Joan of Arc (I never grew up religious, so in retrospect this is kind of odd). I'm definitely going to pick up Joan for the secular aspect and b/c I'm intrigued by something more character-driven!! Great comparison review!!
Thank you! Joan of Arc is such a compelling character. If you want a secular retelling I think you would love Joan! 😊
I just put the Chen book on hold, but I think I'll get to the Twain book at some point...just out of curiosity! I had no idea that Twain wrote about Joan of Arc!
I was so happy to revisit the Twain version. I would love to hear what you think of either of these books!
Try "the Second Coming of Saint Joan of Arc" by Caroline Gage.
I just looked it up. I haven't read a play in ages! I will add it to my TBR. Thanks!
The Twain one sounds fun to me. I always like it when an author insists his best book is not one of his best read ones 😂
Yes! I really enjoyed his take on the book 😂 I read quite a bit of Twain when I was younger and remember Joan of Arc being my favorite so at least I agree with his opinion on the book