James Branch Cabell

**James Branch Cabell** (1879 – 1958) was an American writer. He wrote fantasy fiction. His name is pronounced "CAB-ble".

## Life 
Cabell was born and lived most of his life in Richmond, Virginia. He spent the winters in Florida until the death of his first wife in 1949. He retired in Florida. 

Cabell was born into a rich Virginian family. His father, Robert Gamble Cabell II (1847–1922), was a physician. His mother, Anne Harris (1859–1915), was the daughter of Col. and Mrs James R. Branch. Cabell's great-grandfather, William H. Cabell, was Governor of Virginia from 1805 to 1808. Cabell was the oldest of three boys . His brothers were Robert Gamble Cabell III (1881–1968) and John Lottier Cabell (1883–1946). His parents separated and were later divorced in 1907.

He went to the College of William and Mary in 1894 at the age of fifteen. He graduated in 1898. While an undergraduate, Cabell taught French and Greek at the college. Ellen Glasgow, a writer and close friend of Cabell said that he had a friendship with a professor at the college which some people thought was "too intimate". Because of this, Cabell had to leave the college. He was later allowed back and finished his degree.

Cabell worked from 1898 to 1900 as a newspaper reporter in New York City. He returned to Richmond in 1901. In Richmond, he worked several months for the *Richmond News*. 

The VCU undergraduate literary journal at the university is named Poictesme after the fictional province in his book *Jurgen*.

## Works 
Cabell published about fifty books. Most of these are not well known. His eighth book, *Jurgen*, (1919) was the most popular. The hero, Jurgen, goes on a journey through ever more fantastic places. He even goes to hell and heaven. Everywhere he goes, he seduces the local women, even the Devil's wife. 

The book was seen as being bad by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. They tried to bring a prosecution for obscenity. The case went on for two years before Cabell and his publishers won. Many of the things in the book were double entendres. They had one meaning which was bad and also had a decent meaning. It appeared that what had actually offended the prosecution most was a joke about papal infallibility. Cabell took an author's revenge. The new edition of 1926 included a 'lost' section which was not in the earlier version. In it, the hero is put on trial by the Philistines. A large dung beetle is the chief prosecutor.

Other works include *Figures of Earth*. This introduces Manuel the Redeemer. He took control of a realm by playing on others' . His motto is *Mundus Vult Decipi*. This means 'the world wishes to be deceived'. *The Silver Stallion* is a . It deals with the adventures of the knights in Manuel's company after he left them. 

Cabell is now forgotten by most people but his work affected later writers of fantasy fiction. Robert Heinlein's *Job, A comedy of Justice* has an appearance of the Slavic god Koschei (from *Jurgen*). Fritz Leiber's *Swords of Lankhmar* was also affected by Jurgen. Jack Vance's *Dying Earth* books show a similar style to Cabell's writing. Cugel the Clever in those books is very similar to Jurgen.

## References 
## Other websites 
;James Branch Cabell
* Encyclopaedia Britannica
* James Branch Cabell Library  (Virginia Commonwealth University)
* Poictesme, Virginia Commonwealth University's literary journal 

;Cabell works online
* Domnei  (Litrix Reading Room)
* Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice  (University of Virginia)
* The Cream of The Jest  (University of Wisconsin)
* 

;Bibliographies
* Chronology of James Branch Cabell's Published Works