James Branch Cabell

"Ariella, unhappy in love, confides in the woman whose husband she stole; Nahum, a devoted father, can't find the words to challenge his daughter's promiscuous lover; the old idealists deplore the apathy of the young, while the young are so used to kibbutz life that they can't work out if they're impassioned or indifferent. And amid this, Martin attempts to teach Esperanto."--Back cover.

The Cords of Vanity by James Branch Cabell is the thirteenth installment in his Biography of the Life of Manuel series. Robert Etheridge Townsend is an arrogant young man from a prominent wealthy family (he is the great-grandson of Jurgen of Poictesme). As a teenager, he falls in love with Stella, beginning the first of many love affairs. Townsend’s vanity allows him to proceed through these love affairs with disregard for the women who are the objects of his “affection.” As the years pass, he begins to mature, but still struggles to overcome the need to avoid any situation that may cause him unpleasantness. The Cords of Vanity was originally published in 1909, and was revised in 1920 (the edition on which this ebook is based) with an introduction by author Wilson Follett. Six of the chapters were originally published as short stories in the monthly literary magazine The Smart Set.

Chivalry, a collection of romantic tales written by the supposed medieval poet Nicolas of Caen, is the fifth installment in James Branch Cabell’s Biography of the Life of Manuel. The stories take place in medieval France and England, and involve royal figures from history. The theme of courtly love, where a knight preserves honor and stays true to his mistress, is common thread throughout. Characters take on the role of troubadour, singing of their love and devotion. The subtitle “Dizain des Reines” refers to a type of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century French poetry featuring ten-line stanzas. Here, it corresponds to the ten stories and their respective queens. Chivalry was written in 1909. Later, Cabell developed the idea of arranging some of his works into a biographical series that traces the life and legacy of the fictional Dom Manuel. He revised Chivalry in 1921 to work Manuel into the storyline and connect it to his other works.

Text and illustrations present reflections on quiet moments in nature.