Cabell, << CAB uhl, >> James Branch (1879-1958), was an American author. His unusual fiction is a sophisticated combination of romance, legend, fantasy, satire, mythology, symbolism, and irony. Cabell’s books, though often filled with whimsy and humor, are the work of an essentially serious philosophic writer.
Cabell’s major achievement was an 18-volume series he called “Biography of the Life of Manuel.” The series deals imaginatively with Dom Manuel, a medieval nobleman in the mythical French province of Poictesme, and his descendants over a period of several centuries. The most famous work in the series is the novel Jurgen (1919). Attempts were made to ban the book on a charge of obscenity. Other well-known volumes in the “Biography” include The Rivet in Grandfather’s Neck (1915), The Cream of the Jest (1917), Figures of Earth (1921), The High Place (1923), The Silver Stallion (1926), and Something About Eve (1927).
Cabell was born on April 14, 1879, in Richmond, Virginia. His writings reflect his knowledge of languages and literature and interest in history and genealogy. He died on May 5, 1958.
