You might find Randall Knoper's new book, Acing Naturally, areiew of which will be online here in a day or so, very interesting. In it, Knopwer spends mcuh time n Joan of Arc as a book that resolves a number of issues for Twain regarding reprentation, dramatic realism, and the merging of high and popular cultures. This discussion is particuallry relevant to tyour comments, and I agree with you, Joan is a very likeable book that deserves more credit than it typcially gets.