''Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice'' is a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

novel by American writer

James Branch Cabell James Branch Cabell (; April 14, 1879 – May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and ''belles-lettres''. Cabell was well-regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken, Edmund Wilson, and Sinclair Lewis. His work ...

, which gained fame (or notoriety) shortly after its publication in 1919. It is a humorous romp through a medieval cosmos, including a send-up of

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

, and excursions to Heaven and Hell as in ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...

''. Cabell's work is recognized as a landmark in the creation of the

comic fantasy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre rose ...

novel, influencing

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first no ...

and many others.

The book and its reception

The eponymous hero, who considers himself a "monstrous clever fellow," embarks on a journey through ever more fantastic realms in search of a parodized version of

courtly love Courtly love ( oc, fin'amor ; french: amour courtois ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing vari ...

. Everywhere he goes he meets eccentric knights and damsels, in an acerbic satire of contemporary America. Jurgen gains the attention of the Lady of the Lake, Queen

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

, Anaitis,

Helen of Troy Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...

, Chloris, and even

the Devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood ...

's wife. His wanderings take him from

Poictesme Poictesme () is a fictional country or province which forms the setting of the fantasy works of James Branch Cabell, known collectively as ''Biography of the Life of Manuel''. Poictesme is ruled by the Count Dom Manuel. It was the author's intent ...

to Glathion, Cocaigne,

Leuke Snake Island, also known as Serpent Island or Zmiinyi Island ( uk, острів Змії́ний, ostriv Zmiinyi; ro, Insula Șerpilor; russian: Змеиный, Zmeinyy), is an island belonging to Ukraine located in the Black Sea, near the D ...

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

, and

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

. The novel became more widely known after the

New York Society for the Suppression of Vice The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV or SSV) was an institution dedicated to supervising the morality of the public, founded in 1873. Its specific mission was to monitor compliance with state laws and work with the courts and di ...

attempted to bring a prosecution for obscenity. The

printing plate Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...

s were seized on January 4, 1920. The case went on for two years before Cabell and his publisher, Robert M. McBride, won. They argued that the "indecencies" were

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

s that also had perfectly decent interpretations, though it appeared that what had actually offended the prosecution most was the work's mocking expression of philosophy, including a jest about the nature of

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks ''ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the aposto ...

. In 1922, Guy Holt his editor and publisher who was also named in the court case published ''Jurgen and the Law, A Statement. With Exhibits, including the Court's Opinion, and the brief for the Defendants on Motion to Direct an Acquittal''. There were only one thousand copies printed for sale. Cabell took an author's revenge. The revised edition of 1923 included a previously "lost" passage in which the hero is placed on trial by the

Philistines The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...

, with a large dung-beetle as the chief prosecutor. He also wrote a short book, ''Taboo'', in which he thanked John S. Sumner and the Society for the Suppression of Vice for generating the publicity that gave his career a boost. Writing in the ''Pacific Review'' in 1921,

Vernon Louis Parrington Vernon Louis Parrington (August 3, 1871 – June 16, 1929) was an American literary historian and scholar. His three-volume history of American letters, ''Main Currents in American Thought'', won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1928 and was one ...

praised ''Jurgen'', and described Cabell as "one of the greatest masters of English prose."

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...

called ''Jurgen'' one of the "epoch-making masterpieces of philosophy" in 1929 – the book contains a parody of Crowley's

Gnostic Mass A Gnostic Mass is a liturgical Mass administered by a Gnostic church. Several such churches exist, each with its own version of the Mass. Some of these are: * Ecclesia Gnostica celebrates a traditional Gnostic Mass called the Gnostic Holy Euchari ...

. Crowley's famous phrase from ''

The Book of the Law ''Liber AL vel Legis'' (), commonly known as ''The Book of the Law'', is the central sacred text of Thelema. Aleister Crowley said that it was dictated to him by a beyond-human being who called himself ' Aiwass'. Rose Edith Kelly, Crowley's ...

'', "There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt"—or its source, Rabelais's "there was but this one clause to be observed, ''Do What Thou Wilt''"—is parodied as "There is no law in Cocaigne save, Do that which seems good to you." Reviewing Cabell's later novel, ''Hamlet Had An Uncle'',

Basil Davenport Basil Davenport (1905-1966) was an American literary critic, academic, anthologist, and writer of science fiction novels and other genres. He was a member of the Baker Street Irregulars literary society. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky on March ...

called ''Jurgen'' "a masterpiece."

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

consciously patterned his best-known novel, ''

Stranger in a Strange Land ''Stranger in a Strange Land'' is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by ...

'', after ''Jurgen'', and Cabell's influence is also evident in the titles and themes of at least two other novels by Heinlein: his long-unpublished first novel, '' For Us, The Living: A Comedy of Customs'' (written 1938, published 2003), and his late work '' Job: A Comedy of Justice'' (1984). Filmmaker Jürgen Vsych was named after ''Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice'', which was her father's favorite book."The Woman Director" by Jurgen Vsych, 2004

Footnotes

References

External links

* * * {{librivox book , title=Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice , author=James Branch CABELL * "Notes on Jurgen" (a 1928 fan book of footnotes to accompany the novel), by James P. Cover
through HathiTrust
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Banning Jurgen
"
James Branch Cabell: Literary Life and Legacy
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