Biography Of The Life Of Manuel

''Biography of the Life of Manuel'' is a series of novels, essays and poetry by James Branch Cabell. It purports to trace the life, illusions and disillusions of Dom Manuel, Count of Poictesme (a fictional province of France), and of his physical and spiritual descendants through many generations.

Theme

The conceit of the series is that the life (or at least the expectations) of Dom Manuel 'the Redeemer', which is the subject of the novel '' Figures of Earth'', did not end in his death but was continued in his heirs. The life of each follows the same pattern.

''The comedy is always the same. In the first act, the hero imagines a place where happiness exists. In the second, he strives towards that goal. In the third, he comes up short, or what amounts to the same thing: he achieves his goal only to find that happiness lies a little further down the road.''

--'' The High Place : A Comedy of Disenchantment'' (1923)

Sequence

The components of the ''Biography'' were written between 1901 and 1929; some of them were originally conceived before Cabell had thought of Manuel and had to be rewritten to a greater or lesser extent to enable them to fit into the sequence. Although the ''Biography'' is a mix of fantasies, historical romances, social satires, verse, plays, and essays, Cabell said that he considered it a single work.

Bibliography

A table of works comprising the ''Biography'' follows. These data are given for each title:
* the date of its first publication, and of its revision (if any);
* an 'S' number (thus: S01) representing the volume of the uniform ''Storisende Edition'', prepared under Cabell's supervision, published by R. M. McBride in 18 volumes between 1927 and 1930 (an asterisk indicates that the listed work formed only part of the volume);
* a 'B' number (thus: B15) representing the number of the work in the official bibliography of Cabell, prepared with his assistance by F. J. Brewer in 1957.Frances Joan Brewer, ''James Branch Cabell: A Bibliography of his Writings, Biography and Criticism'', University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville, 1957

Some of Cabell's other books appear to have teasing references to the ''Biography''. For example, the hero of ''Hamlet Had an Uncle'' (1927, B27) is the historical prince Horwendill, whose name suggests Manuel's nemesis, Horvendile.

Reception

Dave Langford reviewed ''The Silver Stallion'' for ''White Dwarf'' #49, and stated that "''The Silver Stallion'' stands up well on its own: moving, erudite and very, very witty. ..This and ''Jurgen'' are the best introductions to Cabell."

References

External links

*
"Science-Fiction and Fantasy Books by James Branch Cabell"
by Eric Walker, Great Science-Fiction & Fantasy Works

at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee


at Library of Southern Literature

footnotes and references collected by enthusiasts in 1928, augmented by modern additions

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biography of the Life of Manuel
Fantasy books by series
Novels by James Branch Cabell