James Branch Cabell

From the Hidden Way James Branch Cabell

James Branch Cabell (1879-1958) wrote many of the Twentieth Century's finest fantasies, including the controversial "Jurgen," which was famously banned by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. It was only after the furor died down that readers and critics were fully able to appreciate that the author was no mere sensationalist, but a literary artist of very high calibre. Cabell was above all else, an elegant stylist, whose gently caustic, beautifully fantasic comedies struck a chord in the Jazz Age and still resonate today. He was an important influence on subsequent writers as diverse as Fritz Leiber and Neil Gaiman.

"[He] is a delightful author . . . I like the sheer audacity and the scope [of his work]." -- Neil Gaiman

"One of the all-time greats of fantasy, whose cynical yet romantic view of the human comedy is simultaneously hilarious, beautiful, and melancholy. A writer you must read." -- Darrell Schweitzer

"From the Hidden Way" collects Cabell's poetry, which illustrates a mastery of of a wide range of styles and forms, and is filled with sly allusions to Cabell's other books. It was included in the famous Storisende Edition of the collected "Biography of Manuel," which Cabell considered to be the centerpiece of his art.