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.[1]
TitlePublishedIndex (Storisende)Index (Bibliography)Description
Beyond Life1919S01B01Essentially a non-fiction essay on life and fiction-writing.
Figures of Earth1921S02B02The tale of the rise of Dom Manuel himself from swineherd to count.
The Silver Stallion1926S03B03The story of the Lords of the Silver Stallion, Manuel's court, after his death.
Domnei: A Comedy of Woman-Worship1913 as The Soul of Melicent; revised and retitled 1920S04*B05
The Music From Behind the Moon1926S04*B45
Chivalry1909, revised 1921S05B06The 1909 edition had no references to Manuel.
Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice1919S06B07Cabell's most famous book, chronicling the fantastical adventures of the pawnbroker and "monstrous clever fellow" Jurgen.
The Line of Love1905, revised 1921S07B08
The High Place1923S08B09
Gallantry1907, revised 1922S09B10The 1907 edition had no references to Manuel or Jurgen.
Something About Eve1927S10B11Manuel's and Jurgen's descendant, the magician Gerald Musgrave, journeys towards the destination of gods and poets but finds other ends.
The Certain Hour1916S11B12
The Cords of Vanity1909, revised 1920S12B13
From the Hidden Way1916, revised 1924; 1928 as Ballads from the Hidden WayS13*B14Verse
The Jewel Merchants1921S13*B15Play
The Rivet in Grandfather's Neck1915S14B16
The Eagle's Shadow1904, revised 1923S15B17
The Cream of the Jest1917, revised 1922S16*B18
The Lineage of Lichfield1922S16*B19A fantastic genealogy of the Biography.
Straws and Prayer-Books1924S17B20Essays, plus two fantasy stories.
Townsend of Lichfield1930S18B21Essays, stories, verses and bibliography.
Taboo1921S18*B44A thinly veiled fantasy-style recounting of the Jurgen obscenity trial.
Sonnets from Antan1929S18*B49 (verse)
The Witch-Woman1948-B04Compiles three related books: The Music From Behind the Moon (1926; S04*, B45), The Way of Ecben (1929; S18*, B48), and The White Robe (1928; S18*, B47), plus a new introduction. Not in the Storisende Edition.
Preface to the Past1936-B22Prefaces and notes extracted from the Storisende Edition.
The Judging of Jurgen1920-B42Like Taboo, a parody of the proceedings against Jurgen.

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."[2]

References
  1. Frances Joan Brewer, James Branch Cabell: A Bibliography of his Writings, Biography and Criticism, University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville, 1957
  2. Langford, Dave (January 1984). "Critical Mass". White Dwarf. Games Workshop (Issue 49): 16.
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