Editing James Branch Cabell (section)

== Works ==
{{original research section|date=May 2023}}
[[File:Jurgen Jacket 1919.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Dust jacket]] of ''[[Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice]]'']]

=== ''Jurgen'' ===
{{Main|Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice}}
Cabell's best-known book, ''[[Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice]]'' (1919), was the subject of a celebrated [[obscenity]] case shortly after its publication. The eponymous hero, who considers himself a "monstrous clever fellow", embarks on a journey through ever more fantastic realms, even to hell and heaven. Everywhere he goes, he winds up seducing the local women, even the Devil's wife.

The novel was denounced by the [[New York Society for the Suppression of Vice]]; they attempted to bring a prosecution for obscenity. The case went on for two years before Cabell and his publisher, [[Robert M. McBride]], won: the "indecencies" were double entendres that also had a perfectly decent interpretation, though it appeared that what had actually offended the prosecution most was a joke about [[papal infallibility]]. The presiding judge, [[Charles Cooper Nott Jr.]], wrote in his decision that "...&nbsp;the most that can be said against the book is that certain passages therein may be considered suggestive in a veiled and subtle way of immorality, but such suggestions are delicately conveyed" and that because of Cabell's writing style "it is doubtful if the book could be read or understood at all by more than a very limited number of readers."<ref name="vcubio" />

Cabell took an author's revenge: the revised edition of 1926 included a previously "lost" passage in which the hero is placed on trial by the [[Philistines]], with a large dung-beetle as the chief prosecutor. He also wrote a short book, ''Taboo'', in which he thanks John H. Sumner and the Society for Suppression of Vice for generating the publicity that gave his career a boost. Due to the notoriety of the suppression of ''Jurgen'', Cabell became a figure of international fame. In the early 1920s, he became associated by some critics with a group of writers referred to as "The James Branch Cabell School", which included such figures as Mencken, [[Carl Van Vechten]] and [[Elinor Wylie]].

=== ''Biography of the Life of Manuel'' ===
{{Main|Biography of the Life of Manuel}}
A great deal of Cabell's work consists of the ''[[Biography of the Life of Manuel]]'', the story of a character named Dom Manuel and his descendants through many generations. The biography includes a total of 25 works that were written over a 23-year period. Cabell stated that he considered the ''Biography'' to be a single work, and supervised its publication in a single uniform edition of 18 volumes, known as the ''Storisende Edition'', published from 1927 to 1930. A number of the volumes of the Biography were also published in editions illustrated by [[Frank C. Papé]] between 1921 and 1926.

The themes and characters from ''Jurgen'' make appearances in many works included in the Biography. ''[[Figures of Earth]]'' tells the story of Manuel the swineherd, a morally ambiguous protagonist who rises to conquer a realm by playing on others' expectations—his motto being [[Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur|Mundus Vult Decipi]], meaning "the world wishes to be deceived." ''The Silver Stallion'' is a loose sequel to ''Figures of Earth'' that deals with the creation of the legend of Manuel the Redeemer, in which Manuel is pictured as an infallible hero, an example to which all others should aspire; the story is told by Manuel's former knights, who remember how things really were and take different approaches to reconciling the mythology with the actuality of Manuel.<ref name="curious"/>

Many of these books take place in the fictional country eventually ruled by Manuel, known as "[[Poictesme]]" (pronounced "pwa-tem"). It was the author's intention to situate Poictesme roughly in the south of France. The name suggests the two real French cities of [[Poitiers]] (medieval Poictiers) and [[Angoulême]] (medieval Angoulesme). Several other books take place in the fictional town of Lichfield, Virginia.

After concluding the ''Biography'' in 1932, Cabell shortened his professional name to ''Branch Cabell''. The truncated name was used for all his new, "post-''Biography''" publications until the printing of ''There Were Two Pirates'' (1946).

=== Others ===
Though Cabell is best known as a fantasist, the plots and characters of his first few novels, ''The Eagle's Shadow'' (1904), ''The Cords of Vanity'' (1909), and ''The Rivet in Grandfather's Neck'' (1915) (later all adapted for inclusion into the ''Biography''), do not wander out of the everyday society of Virginia's gentry. But Cabell's signature droll style is clearly in evidence, and in later printings each book would bear a characteristically Cabellian subtitle: ''A Comedy of Purse-Strings'', ''A Comedy of Shirking'', and ''A Comedy of Limitations'', respectively.

His later novel, ''The First Gentleman of America: A Comedy of Conquest'' (1942), retells the strange career of an [[indigenous peoples of the Americas|American Indian]] from the shores of the [[Potomac River|Potomac]] who sailed away with Spanish explorers, later to return, be made chief of his tribe, and kill all the Spaniards in the new Virginia settlement. Cabell delivered a more concise, historical treatment of the novel's events in ''The First Virginian'', part one of his 1947 work of non-fiction, ''Let Me Lie'', a book on the history of Virginia.

Other works include:

* ''The Nightmare Has Triplets'' trilogy, comprising ''Smirt'' (1934), ''Smith'' (1935), and ''Smire'' (1937)
* The ''Heirs and Assigns'' trilogy, comprising ''[[Hamlet Had an Uncle]]'' (1940), ''The King Was in His Counting House'' (1938), and ''The First Gentleman of America'' (1942)
* The ''It Happened in Florida'' trilogy, comprising ''The St. Johns'' (written in collaboration with [[A. J. Hanna]]), ''There Were Two Pirates'' (1946), and ''The Devil's Own Dear Son'' (1949)

Cabell also wrote a number of autobiographical and [[genealogy|genealogical]] works.

===List of works===
{{div col}}
* ''The Eagle's Shadow'' (1904)
* ''The Line Of Love'' (1905) (also titled: Dizain Des Mariages)
* ''Gallantry'' (1907/22)
* ''Branchiana'' (1907)
* ''The Cords Of Vanity: A Comedy Of Shirking'' (1909/21)
* ''Chivalry: Dizain Des Reines'' (1909/21)
* ''Branch Of Abingdon'' (1911)
* ''The Soul Of Melicent'' (1913)
* ''The Rivet In Grandfather's Neck: A Comedy Of Limitations'', (1915)
* ''The Majors And Their Marriages'' (1915) (available at hathitrust.org)
* ''The Certain Hour'' (1916)
* ''From The Hidden Way'' (1916/1924)
* ''[[The Cream of the Jest]]'' (1917)
* ''[[Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice]]'' (1919)
* ''Beyond Life'' (1919)
* ''Domnei: A Comedy Of Woman-Worship'' (1920)
* ''The Judging Of Jurgen'' (1920)
* ''Jurgen And The Censor'' (1920)
* ''Taboo: A Legend Retold From The Dighic Of Saevius Nicanor'' (1921)
* ''[[Figures of Earth|Figures Of Earth: A Comedy Of Appearances]]'' (1921)
* ''The Jewel Merchants'' (1921)
* ''Joseph Hergesheimer'' (1921)
* ''The Lineage Of Lichfield: An Essay In Eugenics'' (1922)
* ''[[The High Place]] (1923)
* ''Straws And Prayer-Books'' (1924)
* ''The Silver Stallion'' (1926)
* ''The Music From Behind The Moon'' (1926)
* ''Something About Eve'' (1927)
* ''The Works'' (1927-30)
* ''The White Robe'' (1928)
* ''Ballades From The Hidden Way'' (1928)
* ''The Way Of Ecben'' (1929)
* ''Sonnets From Antan'' (1929)
* ''Some Of Us: An Essay In Epitaphs'' (1930)
* ''Townsend Of Lichfield'' (1930)
* ''Between Dawn And Sunrise'' (1930) [edited by John Macy]
* ''These Restless Heads: A Trilogy Of Romantics'' (1932)
* ''Special Delivery: A Packet Of Replies'' (1933)
* ''Ladies And Gentlemen: A Parcel Of Reconsiderations'' (1934)
* ''Smirt: An Urbane Nightmare'' (1934)
* ''Smith: A Sylvan Interlude'' (1935)
* ''Preface To The Past'' (1936)
* ''Smire: An Acceptance In The Third Person'' (1937)
* ''The Nightmare Has Triplets'' (1937)
* ''Of Ellen Glasgow'' (1938)
* ''The King Was In His Counting House'' (1938)
* ''Hamlet Had An Uncle'' (1940)
* ''The First Gentleman Of America'' (1942)  (UK title: The First American Gentleman)
* ''The St Johns: A Parade Of Diversities'' (1943) [with A.J. Hanna]
* ''There Were Two Pirates'' (1946)
* ''Let Me Lie'' (1947)
* ''The Witch Woman'' (1948)
* ''The Devil's Own Dear Son'' (1949)
* ''Quiet Please'' (1952)
* ''As I Remember It: Some Epilogues In Recollection'' (1955)
* ''Between Friends'' (1962)
{{div col end}}

Source:<ref name=authorandbook>{{cite web |title=Author - James Branch Cabell |url=http://www.authorandbookinfo.com/cgi-bin/auth.pl?C000018 |publisher=Author and Book Info}}</ref>