The Certain Hour - Cabell, James Branch

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Résumé :
A Certain Hour (1922) is a collection of stories by James Branch Cabell. Recreating the lives of some of history's most celebrated poets, A Certain Hour is a relative outlier among Cabell's body of work, and is included in a series of novels, essays, and poems known as the Biography of the Life of Manuel. Indisputably the most striking defect of this modern American literature is the fact that the production of anything at all resembling literature is scarcely anywhere apparent. Innumerable printing-presses, instead, are turning out a vast quantity of reading-matter, the candidly recognized purpose of which is to kill time, and which-it has been asserted, though perhaps too sweepingly-ought not to be vended over book-counters, but rather in drugstores along with the other narcotics. Moving away from his usual setting of 13th century France, Cabell begins his collection with an impassioned essay decrying the state of American literature in the early twentieth century. Interested in the nature of literary genius, he imagines the lives of such poets as Robert Herrick and Alexander Pope, whose wit and wisdom remain essential centuries after their deaths. A Certain Hour is a captivating collection of tales from a historical period not so different from our own. Cabell's work has long been described as escapist, his novels and stories derided as fantastic and obsessive recreations of a world lost long ago. To read A Certain Hour, however, is to understand that the issues therein-the struggle for power, the unspoken distance between men and women-were vastly important not only at the time of its publication, but in our own, divisive world. This edition of James Branch Cabell's A Certain Hour is a classic of fantasy and romance reimagined for modern readers. Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book. With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe....

Biographie:
American writer James Branch Cabell (1879-1958) is renowned for his works of social criticism, satire, and fantasy. Born in Richmond, Virginia, Cabell honed a distinctive literary style that combined humor, sarcasm, and romance. Early in the 20th century, Cabell started his writing career and became well-known for his ambitious work, the Biography of the Life of Manuel. The connected books in this series, include Jurgen, Figures of Earth, and The Silver Stallion, demonstrated Cabell's talent for weaving complex stories and his examination of subjects like love, desire, and the definition of heroism. In Cabell's writings, fantasy and social critique are often combined in fanciful worlds and locations. Extensive language, sophisticated wordplay, and a self-awareness that questioned accepted literary standards were characteristics of his writing style. Despite Cabell's decreasing popularity in the middle of the 20th century, his writings are still valued for the literary skill with which they probe human nature and society structures. James Branch Cabell is now regarded as a significant contributor to American literature, especially in the fields of satire, fantasy, and speculative fiction....

Sommaire:
American writer James Branch Cabell (1879-1958) is renowned for his works of social criticism, satire, and fantasy. Born in Richmond, Virginia, Cabell honed a distinctive literary style that combined humor, sarcasm, and romance. Early in the 20th century, Cabell started his writing career and became well-known for his ambitious work, the Biography of the Life of Manuel. The connected books in this series, include Jurgen, Figures of Earth, and The Silver Stallion, demonstrated Cabell's talent for weaving complex stories and his examination of subjects like love, desire, and the definition of heroism. In Cabell's writings, fantasy and social critique are often combined in fanciful worlds and locations. Extensive language, sophisticated wordplay, and a self-awareness that questioned accepted literary standards were characteristics of his writing style. Despite Cabell's decreasing popularity in the middle of the 20th century, his writings are still valued for the literary skill with which they probe human nature and society structures. James Branch Cabell is now regarded as a significant contributor to American literature, especially in the fields of satire, fantasy, and speculative fiction....