This is odd Quest Fantasy stuff, with something to say about...well...the questionable role of women in the life of a man who wants to walk a meaningful path. I mean, is there any other way to put it, even though I'm quickly alienating potential women readers? How else could I describe a book where one man sets off on an epic trek to discover a Third (and apparently most important) Truth, and to rule a supposed underworld paradise, only to be repeatedly yanked out of his stride by several women who want to domesticate him, tame him, eternally distract him, you name it.

Some of the women are part-beast (Fox-Woman; woman with the feathery legs), at least one woman is a witch, and the one that our hero Gerald can't resist at all is a terrible nag. What does this say, as Gerald slowly seems to abandon his higher aspirations (at one point, his entire mission grinds to a halt, as he acquires, rather instantly, a seven or eight-year-old son, whom, it should be noted, Gerald only sees when he wears his new rose-coloured glasses)?

Gerald himself is an amusing character. He begins his adventure by wafting out of his original body and allowing a demon to inabit it, giving up his aspirations as a poet and a romantic, and setting out on his strange metaphysical journey towards a place where he will officially get designated as a god (he's quite uppity and pompous about being treated as a deity, even before he has fulfilled said destiny). For someone determined to be a god, he has a hard time forgetting his old flame, Evelyn (she's a married woman, and not to Gerald) from his previous life, and no matter what weird land Gerald gets held up in, he's most unhappy ...It's all very [odd], and relentlessly episodic, with famous personages streaming in and out of the narrative, giving Gerald their whiney autobiographies, before they head toward that harmonious underworld Gerald is supposed to be trekking towards, and then ruling, himself. It looks less and less likely that Gerald is going to fulfill his destiny, and discover the secrets of the universe in the Third Truth or anything like that, unless he can swear off domesticity. In fact, yes, as the end approaches, it looks like the story is going to loop back on itself in an Ouroborus-Worm way. Or maybe Gerald really is destined for greatness, despite occurences like Evelyn's father suddenly manifesting before him and asking him to please return to his body, so that Evelyn is not consorting with a demon ...

Despite the wonderful fantasy content, the odd humour (blunt or sly at intervals), and the thoughtful themes underneath the obvious one concerning "women as obstacle to a man's higher purpose", this book won't appeal to everyone. ...

The story began on the evening of April 30, 1805 in Lichfield. Gerald Musgrave was in his study working on a manuscript about his ancestors Dom Manuel and Madame Niafer. However, he couldn't concentrate on his work because he wanted out of his illicit love-affair with Evelyn Townsend, his second cousin. He wanted to become a major author and an accomplished magician but his time spent with Evelyn was taking too much of his time. However, she did not want to end the affair, and the conventions of that time placed the choice for ending it upon the female. A Sylan materialized in Gerald's study and offered to take his place in Lichfield and Gerald could take his in the spiritual world. Gerald agreed and found himself on the road of greater myths to Antan where he was to become its ruler. Horvendile, Lord of the Marches of Antan provided him with a silver stallion named Kalki for him to ride. On his way to Antan, he met Eradne who invited him join her in the rites of pleasure. He declined. In Doonham, he met Princess Evershah from whom he secured a vial of six drops of water from the Churning of the Ocean, but was forced to destroy her. In the land of Dersam, he met Evarvan of the mirror, but managed to escape from her after a series of adventures. In Lytreia, he saved the holy relic of the Temple of the Holy Nose, but outraged its devotees by pointing out that it was really a tongue; however, before he left Lytreia, he destoyed Evaine, a sorceress who held the Veiled Mirror which he found to be a painting. In the country of Tourine everyone was so concerned with learning to become a better sorcerer that no one would talk to him. Next, he encountered the Sphinx with whom he had an unsatisfying conversation. On Mispec Moor, he met Maya of the Fair Breasts and settled down with her for 30 years. When he wasn't engaged in domestic activities, he amused himself by talking to poets, gods and the eminent on the way to Antan. He especially enjoyed his talk with the Emperor Nero, Francois Villon and Merlin. Gerald never arrived in Antan and became responsible for its destruction. After Maya disappeared, Horvendile gave Gerald a word of power that enabled him to return to Lichfield. Back in Lichfield, Gerald learned that his body had become an ethnographer of great reputation and had a son by Evelyn. Gerald returned to his body and sent the Sylan on his way, and took up where his body had left off.

Cabell in a younger day presents the American manifestation of the geneology of Dom Manuel of Poicteme. A light, "quaint" period piece with only the slyest hint (or foreshadowing (?)) of the "supernatural" and characters that will become the creators of the legend.

The title of the book is derived from a fairy tale in which the carved
figure of an unusual looking man on a cupboard door fell in love with
a pretty little china shepherdess who loved a little chimney-sweep
china figure that stood beside her. The carved figure asked the
figure of a Chinaman who could nod his head and claimed to be the
grandfather of the shepherdess if he could marry her. When the
"grandfather" nodded his head in consent, the couple tried
to flee the area by going through the stove and up the chimney to get
into the outside world. But once outside, the shepherdess found the
outside world "too much," so the lovers returned to their
places. When they returned, they found that the Chinaman had fallen
to the floor and had broken into three pieces. The owners of the
Chinaman had him repaired with rivets. However, the rivet in his neck
kept him from nodding. The next time the carved man made his request
to the Chinaman to marry the shepherdess, he no longer could give his
consent, so the lovers remained together until they were broken into
piece.

The story was set in early 1900 Lichfield. Col. Rudolph
Vartrey Musgrave b. 1856, was the unmarried scion of a family that had
settled in the area in the early 17th century. Like all the
inhabitants of Lichfield, Col. Musgrave's public life was governed by
the rules of chivalry while that of his private one was governed by
the rules of gallantry. He spent his time in honorific activities and
doing genealogical research. His life changed drastically when
Patricia Stapylton, his wealthy second cousin, came to visit him and
his sister Agatha before she married an English Earl. After a series
of fortuitous events, the Col. and Patricia were married and had a son
they named Roger. The story is woven around the Musgraves and various
inhabitants of Lichfield and their relationships. Three enduring
themes in these stories are: frustrated youthful love, personal
stagnation, and the hiding or denying of unpleasant social realities.

This is a great text that compiles details for submitting authors about a number of journals in accounting, finance and economics. Some of topics covered are article formats, journal topics desired, and article acceptance rates. Given the ever-increasing number of journals, this book is a valuable reference for every academic in accounting, finance, and economics.

The last (?) descendant of Dom Manuel confronts the past to discover reality. Cabell's "average" (i.e. classical) exercise in urban wit, devious language and human puzzlement. This is a doorway to the past and all the other books of the History.

This book could have been titled, "The Last Troubadour." In this collection of poems, the poet turns his back on his own time and draws upon themes of the medieval and renaissance eras: the certainty of death, the pain of unrequited love, the retelling of ancient history and legends, commentaries upon abstractions, nostalgia for departed youth and fairer seasons, and faith tempered with a sense of defeat. These quotations from the collection provide a sense of the whole: "My master, how wide is the gulf between, That which we are and what might have been." "But Yesterday! for Yesterday! I cry a reward for a Yesterday, Now lost or stolen or gone astray, With all the laughter of Yesterday!" "I am contented by remembrances,-- Dreams of dead passions, wraiths of vanished times, Fragments of vows, and by-ends of old rhymes,--Flotsam and jetsam tumbling in the seas Whereon, long since, put forth our argosies Which, launched for traffic in the Isles of Love, Lie foundered somewhere in some firth thereof, Encradled by eternal silence." In a subtle personal note, JBC evaluated his choice of work as a writer in the poem titled, "The Toy-Maker." It ends: "WHO, you ask, IS THIS FELLOW?--What matter names? He is only a scribbler who is content." Sometime between 1920 and 1922, in the "Yale Literary Review," J. A. Thomas categorized Cabell as "a writer for the elect--but for the elect of all time." For those, who want to get perspective on James Branch Cabell and his work, and evaluate the generalization of J. A. Thomas, the following books would be helpful. It is suggested that the books be read in the order listed: 1 Cabell, James Branch, AS I REMEMBER IT. 1955: NYC: Robert M. McBride & Co.; 2 Wagenknecht, Edward (Editor), THE LETTERS OF JAMES BRANCH CABELL. 1975, Norman, OK: U. of Oklahoma Press; 3 Van Doren, Carl, JAMES BRANCH CABELL. 1932, NYC: The Literary Guild; 4 MacDonald, Edgar, JAMES BRANCH CABELL and Richmond-in-Virginia. 1993, Jackson, MS, U. Press of Mississippi; 5 Rascoe, Burton, BEFORE I FORGET. 1937, Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., Inc.; 6 Rascoe, Burton, WE WERE INTERRUPTED. 1947, Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., Inc.; 7 Starett, Vincent, BORN IN A BOOKSHOP. 1965, Norman, OK: U. of Oklahoma Press.

This three-volume edition provides detailed information about academic journals and other periodicals published in the management and marketing field. Cabell's, as it is referred to in academic circles, is useful to academics in these disciplines because it helps them understand the mission and objectives of the various journals, provides names and addresses of editors, publishing frequency, and other basics. It also provides interesting information regarding the review process, including the estimated acceptance rate, time of review, whether or not the journal charges authors a fee to publish, and whether the review is edited, blind or double blind.

Unfortunately, there is a tendency for academics and those reviewing academics' work to judge the quality of a publication listed in Cabell's based on its acceptance rate. For example, one might be tempted to think that a journal whose editorial board accepts only 5% of articles submitted to it would be a higher quality journal than one that accepts 30% of submissions. This is not always the case, and using this criterion as a ranking mechanism can be dangerous since academics' futures often depend on the perceived quality of the journals in which they publish.

Cabell's should be used as a cumulative set of guidelines and indicators to help academic writers sort through the massive numbers of journals in competition for good articles. It should not be used by university administrators as a way to rank journals, and thus academics who publish in them, since the perceived value of one journal over another depends largely upon the particular niche in the discipline and the mission of the institution which employs the academic.

This is one of Cabell's later books, and a short one at that, running at nearly half the word count of his normal novel. The first half of it is as ironic as his best work in the "Biography of the Life of Manuel," neatly revisiting a number of his main themes such as the concept of the true love that cannot be recaptured (known as "domnei" or woman-worship), that one's actions matter not so much as how one's neighbors view those actions, and honoring one's word. The second half skewers the first--returning the main character to that lost love, making those actions have ramifications (at least to some extent), and showing that one's promises can always contain loopholes.

Cabell's work always has several things going on: although you can read the surface of the novel and enjoy it, if you know what he's satirizing it is much more rewarding. There Were Two Pirates is a mature reflection on growing older and trying to reconcile with the kinds of dreams and goals a person makes when he or she is young. Cabell was writing from personal experience, as one who had seen his star rise and then fall in the short space of 20 years. Like his later books--mainly autobiographical memoirs--this book reflects what Cabell had finally grown to understand: (to be anachronistic) that his fifteen minutes of fame were over. In its place, Cabell returned (not that I'm sure he had ever left it) to what he did best: write for himself.