Figures Of Earth A Comedy Of Appearances

Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances By James Branch Cabell

Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances (1921) is a fantasy novel or ironic romance by James Branch Cabell, set in the imaginary French province of Poictesme during the first half of the 13th century. The book follows the earthly career of Dom Manuel the Redeemer from his origins as a swineherd, thru his elevation to the rank of Count of Poictesme, to his death. It forms the 2nd volume of Cabell's gigantic Biography of the Life of Manuel. The other saying, Manuel replied, "I cannot utter. Yet I wish I were not forced to confess this. It sounds badly. At all events, I love Niafer better than I love any other person, but I do not value Niafer's life more highly than I value my own life, & it would be nonsense to say so. No; my life is very necessary to me, & there is a geas upon me to make a figure in this world before I leave it."

James Branch Cabell (1879-1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and belles lettres. He worked from 1898 to 1900 as a newpaper reporter in New York City, but returned to Richmond in 1901, where he worked several months on the staff of the Richmond News. In 1902, seven of his first stories appeared in national magazines and over the next decade he wrote many short stories and articles, contributing to nationally published magazines including Harper's Monthly Magazine and the Saturday Evening Post, as well as carrying out extensive research on his family's genealogy. In the early 1920s he became the leader of a group of writers known as The James Branch Cabell School, which included such figures as H. L. Mencken, Carl Van Vechten and Elinor Wylie. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1937. Amongst his best known works are: The Eagle's Shadow (1904), The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking (1909), and The Rivet in Grandfather's Neck: A Comedy of Limitations (1915).

James Branch Cabell (1879-1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and belles lettres. He worked from 1898 to 1900 as a newpaper reporter in New York City, but returned to Richmond in 1901, where he worked several months on the staff of the Richmond News. In 1902, seven of his first stories appeared in national magazines and over the next decade he wrote many short stories and articles, contributing to nationally published magazines including Harper's Monthly Magazine and The Saturday Evening Post, as well as carrying out extensive research on his family's genealogy. In the early 1920s he became the leader of a group of writers known as "The James Branch Cabell School", which included such figures as H. L. Mencken, Carl Van Vechten and Elinor Wylie.

Figures of Earth is a fantasy novel in Cabell's Poictesme (a fictional French province) set during the 13th Century. It's one of the Dom Manuel books, and covers Manuel's life from his humble beginnings as a swineherd to elevating himself to the Count of Poictesme.

Figures of Earth is the second installment in James Branch Cabell’s Biography of the Life of Manuel, set in the imaginary province of Poictesme. Young Manuel is a simple, well-liked swineherd who is often seen continually reshaping a small figure he made from the marsh clay from the pool of Haranton. One day, a stranger appears and tells Manuel of an adventure to save the Count of Arnaye’s daughter from a wizard who carried her off to the gray mountain called Vraidex. Manuel accepts this adventure (and many more that follow)—and his life will never be the same. The book was originally published in 1921 and was dedicated to “six most gallant champions,” each of whom were real persons who came to Cabell’s defense during the legal battle over alleged obscenity in his previous novel, Jurgen. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

1924. Today, some recognize Cabell as one of the first contemporary writers from the South. He is also noted for his unique blending of classic myths and legends with his own imagination and is considered a pioneer of fantasy writing. Figures of Earth is one of the classic American fantasy novels. It is set in Cabell's universe, a pseudo-medieval world with a lot of fantastic props. This story describes the life of Manuel, a swineherd of divine birth who rises to become a legendary hero and ruler. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances (1921) is a fantasy novel or ironic romance by James Branch Cabell, set in the imaginary French province of Poictesme during the first half of the 13th century. The book follows the earthly career of Dom Manuel the Redeemer from his origins as a swineherd, through his elevation to the rank of Count of Poictesme, to his death. It forms the second volume of Cabell's gigantic Biography of the Life of Manuel. Cabell's working title for Figures of Earth was initially The Fairy Time, then The Figure or The Figures, before the final version emerged. The book was published in February 1921, during the legal battle to clear his previous novel, Jurgen, from charges of obscenity. He accordingly dedicated Figures of Earth to "six most gallant champions" who had rallied to Jurgen's defense: Sinclair Lewis, Wilson Follett, Louis Untermeyer, H. L. Mencken, Hugh Walpole, and Joseph Hergesheimer. The scandal that surrounded Cabell's name at this time may have adversely affected reviews of Figures of Earth, which, according to the author, registered "some disappointment over its lack of indecency"; he himself preferred Figures of Earth to Jurgen. In the "Author's Note" preceding the novel's 1927 reprint, Cabell observed that "Not many other volumes, I believe, have been burlesqued and cried down in the public prints by their own dedicatees" alluding to the fact that both Untermeyer and Mencken had publicly expressed dislike with the novel in comparison with Jurgen. A 1925 reissue included illustrations by Frank C. Pap�. In Cabell's later years Figures of Earth fell, like most of his other works, into comparative neglect, but two paperback reissues in 1969 and 1971, with introductions by Lin Carter and James Blish respectively, brought it back into circulation.