I'm all with Jack Cady on _Joan_, a grand accomplishment worthy of much more critical care than has flowed its way. The novel suffers far less from sentimentality than it is reputed to, except compared with other Twain novels. There's been next to nothing on print on _Joan_ -- a handful of articles and occasional brief references in general books -- until the past few years, when J. D. Stahl and Peter Stoneley turned their attention to it. Both used it well in service of their hypotheses, but there still remains a pile of work to do in more fundamental critical study. None of which I have time for now. Natch. Still, I will happily drink beer -- that word again! -- with anyone willing to talk about _Joan_, and buy for anyone writing an article. Even Wesley Britton Andy Hoffman