Benbrook Public Library

Chivalry (1909) is a fascinating collection of tales that draw inspiration from the popular chronicles of medieval Europe. Author James Branch Cabell immerses his reader into this distant world, masking his authorship in order to ensure a fluidity of form and content that injects his work of high fantasy with a sense of truth. Intentionally layered in mystery and claims of authenticity, Chivalry purports to be a copy made by royal scribe Colard Mansion...

Domnei: A Comedy of Woman-Worship (1920) is a comic fantasy novel by James Branch Cabell. Set in a world where history and fantasy collide, where a lowly swineherd can rise to be Count of Poictesme, Domnei: A Comedy of Woman-Worship is one of Cabell's best-known works of fiction, and is included in a series of novels, essays, and poems known as the Biography of the Life of Manuel. "Then Perion knew that vain regret had turned his brain, very certainly,...

Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances (1921) is a comic fantasy novel by James Branch Cabell. Set in a world where history and fantasy collide, where a lowly swineherd can rise to be Count of Poictesme, Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances is one of Cabell's best-known works of fiction, and is included in a series of novels, essays, and poems known as the Biography of the Life of Manuel. "They of Poictesme narrate that in the old days when...

This 1921 play, subtitled "A Comedy in One Act," is Cabell's only published play script. The drama is based on the short story "Balthazar's Daughter" that originally appeared in Cabell's 1916 collection, The Certain Hour. In his prologue, the author confesses that the play "lacks moral fervor" and hopes it will "corrupt no reader irretrievably."

The Rivet in Grandfather's Neck (1921) is a comic romance novel by James Branch Cabell. Set in a world, where history and fantasy collide, where the laws of chivalry and honor continue to hold sway in postbellum South, The Rivet in Grandfather's Neck is included in a series of novels, essays, and poems known as the Biography of the Life of Manuel.

"In the sulphurous The High Place, the amoral hero Florian enters the sleeping-beauty story and (unlike Jurgen with Helen) does not draw back at the sight of excessive beauty. Complications ensue: Beauty is realistically diminished during pregnancy, the first-born child is forfeit to Satan under the pact that guaranteed Florain's success, and an irascible saint is eager to call down holy fire on transgressors. Florian treads close to damnation and...

The Cream of the Jest (1923) is a novel by James Branch Cabell. Set in a world, where history and fantasy collide, where a lowly pawnbroker can encounter monsters, gods, and devils, The Cream of the Jest is one work in a series of novels, essays, and poems known as the Biography of the Life of Manuel. Partly inspired by the obscenity trial surrounding his novel Jurgen, a Comedy of Justice, The Cream of the Jest is a metafictional blend of literary...

The Line of Love (1913) is a collection of comic fantasy tales by James Branch Cabell. Set in a world where history and fantasy collide, where a lowly swineherd can rise to be Count of Poictesme, The Line of Love is one of Cabell's best-known works of fiction, and is included in a series of novels, essays, and poems known as the Biography of the Life of Manuel. It is a tale which they narrate in Poictesme, telling how love began between Florian de...

The Silver Stallion is a darkly humorous, often sad, satire on human hypocrisy and our need for heroes. Cabell is unsparing in his skewering of the delusions of religion, marriage and politics, among others. (Amazon)