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Old 01-20-2010, 11:18 AM   #1
Greg Anos
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Compiler Notes On James Branch Cabell

Compiler's Notes

On The Works Of James Branch Cabell



Anyone attempting to compile a reasonable complete edition of the works of James Branch Cabell should prepare for a fair amount of hair loss. His tendency to write and re-write and re-re-write his works leads inevitably to frustration a proper way to portray his works to a reader. His main work, The Biography of Manuel, as entombed in the Storiesende Edition, does little to help matters. It merely leads to to questions over which variant of an essay should be presented to a reader, or should the compiler bore the reader (as well as the compiler) with all the variants.

This compiler has chosen to provide one variant only in the main body of Cabell's work, if the erudite reader feels this is a loss, the compiler humbly apologizes, and gently suggest that the reader fill in the gaps himself. The compiler will not mind. A logical place would be additional volumes at the end.

Said reader will also complain that the volumes of the main works are not consistent with each other. The compiler pleads poverty, as he is unable to afford the Storiesende Edition in it's entirety, and so has used such volumes are he could afford and find. All books used in this edition are either from the Storiesende Edition or from the early to late 1920's revisions of the earlier works and/or from the late 1920's illustrated editions.

The illustrations are omitted. Pape' s works are magnificent, but his death was well after Cabell's, and therefore his illustrations are still under Canadian copyright. The one exception, in The Cream Of The Jest, upon close examination, shows to be Cabell's own work, and hence is reproduced.

Cabell's work became public domain in Canada in 2009, 50 years after his death on May 5, 1958. People in other countries should determine for themselves whether downloading these volumes are legal in their countries.

As to the organization proper. Cabell himself organized his later works as trilogies, and an observant reader will note that his Biography tends to fall into trilogies as well. Therefore, I have organized his works as a string of trilogies. For the reader of only one volume, here is the structure.


Volume I. - The Author's Introduction to The Biography Of Manuel.
Consists of the books - Beyond Life, Prefaces To The Past, and The Lineage of Lichfield.
These books provide the complete author's introduction to The Biography.

Volume II - The Framing Works.
Books that provide the limiting scope to the work - The Cream Of The Jest, The Lines Of Love, and The Jewel Merchants

Volume III - The Fellowship Of The Silver Stallion.
Consists of the books - Figures Of Earth, The Silver Stallion, and Jurgen
These three books are the books of the time of Manuel. They also introduce the three themes of The Biography, life viewed from the Chivalric viewpoint (Figures Of Earth and The Silver Stallion), and the Gallant and Poetic viewpoint (Jurgen).

The next three volumes are can be sorted in two different ways, by theme, or by result. The nine stories consist of three stories of Chivalrous living, Gallant living, and Poetic living, each set being subdivided into one volume of success, one of failure, and one in the times of the writing (circa 1910-20). the compiler has chosen to subdivide based on the type, rather that result, although he recognizes this is a matter of taste. Therefore...

Volume IV - The Chivalric Viewpoint.
Consists of the books - Chivalry, Domnei, and The Rivet In Grandfathers Neck.
Chivalry in success - Chivalry, chivalry in failure - Domnei, and chivalry in modern times - The Rivet In Grandfathers Neck.

Volume V - The Gallant Viewpoint.
Consists of the books - Gallantry, The High Place, and The Cords Of Vanity.
Gallantry in success - Gallantry, gallantry in failure - The High Place, and gallantry in modern times - The Cords Of Vanity.

Volume VI - The Poetic Viewpoint.
Consists of the books - The Certain Hour, Something About Eve, and The Eagle's Shadow.
The poetic viewpoint in success - The Certain Hour, the poetic viewpoint in failure - Something About Eve, and the poetic viewpoint in modern times - The Eagle's Shadow.

Volume VII - Poems From the Hidden Way
Consisting of From the Hidden Way, Ballades From the Hidden Way, and Sonnets From Antan.
Poetry from the era of the composing of The Biography.

Volume VIII - The Witch Woman.
Consisting of the books - The Music From Behind the Moon, The White Robe, and The Way Of Ecben (with it's story closing Colophon).
The tales of Dom Manuel's youngest daughter, providing the counterpoint to the the volume of Manuel's times and provided both the closure (along with The Cream Of The Jest providing the overall framing of the Biography) of The Biography of Manuel and the Poetic viewpoint.

Volume IX - On the Travails of Jurgen.
Consists of the books - The Judging of Jurgen, Jurgen And The Law, and Taboo
The aspects of the Jurgen obscenity trial.

Volume X - The Closing Comments by the Author.
Consisting of the books - Straw And Prayer-Books, Some of Us, James Branch Cabell (By Carl Van Doren)
Like Volume I - The Complete Closing Comments by the Author.
Some may quibble over the last, as it wasn't written by Cabell, but things in Poictesme are fated to go in 10's and there were only 29 books. Besides, the book in question was included in Cabell's These Restless Heads as part of the Deluxe edition, it's inclusion should therefore not be too far out of place. (Carl Van Doren died in 1950, his works are in the public domain in Canada.)

This completes The Biography Of Manuel. The observant will notice I left out Between Dawn And Sunrise, and Townshend of Lichfield, and included Some of Us. Between Dawn and Sunrise is a "Greatest Hits" from the Biography and hence is merely a duplication of what was already in the other volumes. It's proper place would be with the earlier editions of stories in the Biography. Townshend of Lichfield was a micellaneous of Biography related writing, but for this edition all the material was included in other books. The essays were included in Preface to the Past, the stories were included in The Witch Woman, the poems included in Poems From the Hidden Way, and Taboo was included separately, as originally published. The compiler admits that Some of Us is an uneasy fit, but was often included in the Biography, and it helps round out the Biography to ten volumes. Finally, the literary commentary volumes Joseph Hergesheimer, Of Ellen Glasgow, were incorporated in Some of Us and As I Remember It, respectively.

From a reader's perspective, where does one start? My personal recommendation is to start with Volume II, and read through Volume VIII. The other Volumes are for the aspiring writer and/or critic, and are not necessary for the enjoyment of the Biography. If one merely wants to sample Cabell, I would recommend The Silver Stallion and The Way of Ecben as the best samplers from the Biography, or There Were Two Pirates from his later works.


Post Biography Works.

Volume XI - Their Lives and Letters
Consists of the books - These Restless Heads, Special Delivery, and Ladies And Gentlemen

Volume XII - The Nightmare had Triplets
Consists of the books - Smirt, Smith, and Smire

Volume XIII - Heirs And Assigns
Consists of the books - Hamlet Had An Uncle, The King Was In His Counting House, and The First Gentleman Of America

Volume XIV - It Happened In Florida
Consists of the books - The St. Johns (with A.J. Hanna, excluded as not being public domain until 2029), There Were Two Pirates, The Devil's Own Dear Son

Volume XV - Virginians Are Various
Consists of the books - Let Me Lie, Quiet, Please, and As I Remember It.

Volume XVI - Cabell's Letters and Bibliography (all still under editor's copyright, volume will not be produced.)
Consists of the books - Between Friends, The Letters Of James Branch Cabell, and James Branch Cabell: A Bibliography Of His Writings, Biography And Criticism (Frances Brewer)


Appendices - Group A
All the original books issued before 1915.

Appendices - Group B
All the original books issued after 1915 and the earlier works revised editions, prior to the Storiesende Editions.

Appendix C - Between Dawn And Sunrise.
A books of selections from the Storiesende Edition of the Biography.

Appendix D - Genealogies
If somebody want to scan them, have at it. There's nothing more boring than somebody else's Genealogy.
Consists of the books - Branchiana, Branch Of Abingdon, and The Majors And Their Marriages


The compiler will note that sections of this series will be released at various times. It takes much time to scan, OCR, edit, spell-check, and then read each the works, doing final corrections. Even at that, the compiler knows there will be errata. Please post any errata found at MobileRead on the threads containing the downloads. One suspects that doing this conversion, like Coth's fetching of Dom Manuel from beyond the grave in The Silver Stallion, to be an act of heroic unreason; but it is my dream, and I choose to play ape to it.

Mundus Vult Decipi


Postscript: I wish to thank Patricia for converting these manuscripts to working e-books. Her skill has been invaluable, and none of these works would have been worth reading without her works.

Last edited by Greg Anos; 01-20-2010 at 11:22 AM.
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