Figures of earth [Paperback]

James Branch Cabell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2009

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 7. How Manuel Left the Mire THEY of Poictesme narrate that in the old days when miracles were as common as fruit pies, young Manuel was a swineherd, living modestly in attendance upon the miller's pigs. They tell also that Manuel was content enough: he knew not of the fate which was reserved for him. Meanwhile in all the environs of Rathgor, and in the thatched villages of Lower Targamon, he was well liked: and when the young people gathered in the evening to drink brandy and eat nuts and gingerbread, nobody danced more merrily than Squinting Manuel. He had a quiet way with the girls, and with the men a way of solemn, blinking simplicity which caused the more hasty in judgment to consider him a fool. Then, too, young Manuel was very often detected smiling sleepily over nothing, and his gravest care in life appeared to be that figure which Manuel had made out of marsh clay from the pool of Haranton. This figure he was continually reshaping and re- altering. The figure stood upon the margin of the pool; and near by were two stones overgrown withmoss, and supporting a cross of old worm-eaten wood, which commemorated what had been done there. One day, toward autumn, as Manuel was sitting in this place, and looking into the deep still water, a stranger came, and he wore a fierce long sword that interfered deplorably with his walking. "Now I wonder what it is you find in that dark pool to keep you staring so?" the stranger asked, first of all. "I do not very certainly know," replied Manuel, "but mistily I seem to see drowned there the loves and the desires and the adventures I had when I wore another body than this. For the water of Haranton, I must tell you, is not like the water of other fountains, and curious dreams engender in this pool." "I speak no ill agai...

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From the Publisher

James Branch Cabell (1879-1956) is best known for his tales of the imaginary land of Poictesme, where chivalry and galantry live on. All of Cabell's works from before 1930 were assembled into the grand "Biography of the Life of Manuel," the supposed redeemer of the land of Poictesme, and they form a series which follows Manuel and his descendants through the centuries.

Cabell has been a favorite author of many famous writers, ranging from Lin Carter to Robert A. Heinlein. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 198 pages
• Publisher: General Books LLC (August 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1459077237
• ISBN-13: 978-1459077232
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,241,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tale of Obligations, Magic, Deceptions & Social Mobility, June 27, 2000

By 

Robert Throckmorton (Las Vegas, Nevada USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Figures of Earth (Library Binding)

Manuel, a swineherd for his brother-in-law the miller, was a resident in the area ruled by Count Demetrios d'Arnaye. His girlfriend was the lovely Suskind. On her deathbed, Dorothy, his mother, told him that she wanted him to make himself a figure in the world that was a splendid and admirable young man in all respects. After her death, he spent much time at the Pool of Haranton using its marsh clay to make a figure of earth of himself. After he had an adventure with Miramon Lluagor, the wizard, which netted him a lover named Niafer who was then taken by death to the pagan paradise, he decided to seek his fortune elsewhere. He did the following: provided wisdom for King Helmas, turned the wicked King Ferdinand into a saint and ended up engaged to Alianora the Unattainable Princess, the daughter of King Berenger of Arles. The princess taught him her magic and he saved the life of a stork that became indebted to him. He relinquished Alianora to the King of England and found a way to turn Queen Freydis of Audela into a woman permanently. That queen gave life to one of his figures that ran away fom them and became Sesphra, the god of the Philistines. After Queen Freydis taught him how to invoke Misery to free Niafer from the pagan paradise, he invoked Misery and served him for 30 of Misery's days which turned out to be 30 years for Manuel. Misery returned Niafer to him and they were married. For a time, they lived with Queen Freydis on her enchanted island where the stork delivered Melicent, their first child. With the aid of Queen Freydis and Miramon Lluagor, Manuel became the Count of Poictesme which had been granted to him by King Ferdinand, but had been occupied by the Northmen. As count, he founded The Fellowship of the Silver Stallion and turned Poictesme into a prosperous place. He gave one of his stork invoices to Queen Alianora so that she could have a son. The stork added Emmerick and Dorothy to his family. After succeeding at everything, Manuel vanished and legends about him began to form.

This work is a treasure-trove of subtle parodies, satires and social criticism that are unique for their fluency and urbanity.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the Beginning, July 11, 2001

By 

JURGEN "sciolist" (CAMBRIA, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Figures of Earth (Wildside Fantasy) (Paperback)

This is where it starts (maybe); the epic History of Dom Manuel of Poictesme (pronounced pwa-tem), progenitor of a clan that stretches from pre-revolutionary France to the American South and includes Kings of England and Shakespeare. Cabell was witty, erudite and scandalous,,,by far the finest, widely unknown fantasist ever produced in America. Only for those who relish dense language and wisdom that is inevitable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Influential and interesting book, but a lesser work than Jurgen, August 17, 2009

By 

T. Simons (Columbia, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Figures of Earth (Kindle Edition)

James Branch Cabell shares, with Lord Dunsany, the honor of being the most influential fantasist that everyone today has forgotten, occluded behind Mount Tolkien. He was considered a major literary writer in his day, a friend of H.L. Mencken and others, and he's been an influence on Heinlein and Gaiman and many other major writers. . Generally, his works are satiric fantasy with literary bite -- imagine a cynical, agnostic C.S. Lewis, writing pointed fantasies to skewer the pretensions of his Oxford chums, and you might have some preliminary idea of what to expect with Cabell.

This book is chronologically the first in his "series" -- his fantasy works are primarily set in a mythical medieval french realm called "Poictesme", and this book is a biography of the founder, Count Manuel, whose motto is "Mundus Vult Decipiti" ("The World Wishes to be Deceived"). It's a sharp book, aimed at sharp readers, and very amusing for what it is (if somewhat bitter). The only problem with it is that he wrote it after writing _Jurgen_, and Jurgen is simply funnier and more entertaining and better -- as good as this book is, Jurgen is the same thing, but better, pretty much across the board, a better satire of contemporary norms, a better puncturing of worldly ideals. So, read Jurgen first; if you really like it and want more, read this one next.