The Cream of the Jest: A Comedy of Evasions

by James Branch Cabell

Overview

The Cream of the Jest : A Comedy of Evasions is a comical and philosophical novel with possible fantasy elements, by James Branch Cabell, published in 1917. Much of it consists of the historical dreams and philosophical reflections of the main character, the famous writer Felix Kennaston. An early reviewer said it was more a series of essays than a novel. The novel takes place almost entirely around Lichfield, Virginia, Cabell's fictionalization of Richmond, Virginia, particularly in Kennaston's house, in the country. However, Kennaston's dreams take place in various parts of Europe and the Mediterranean basin at various times in the past. Also, part of The novel takes place almost entirely around Lichfield, Virginia, Cabell's fictionalization of Richmond, Virginia,[3] particularly in Kennaston's house, in the country. However, Kennaston's dreams take place in various parts of Europe and the Mediterranean basin at various times in the past. Also, part of The novel takes place almost entirely around Lichfield, Virginia, Cabell's fictionalization of Richmond, Virginia,[3] particularly in Kennaston's house, in the country. However, Kennaston's dreams take place in various parts of Europe and the Mediterranean basin at various times in the past. Also, part of The Cream of the Jest consists of the ending of the first version of Kennaston's novel, which is set in the Middle Ages around the castle of Storisende in a mythical country.
The time covers a few years, apparently not long before the novel's publication in 1917. The Cream of the Jest consists of the ending of the first version of Kennaston's novel, which is set in the Middle Ages around the castle of Storisende in a mythical country. The time covers a few years, apparently not long before the novel's publication in 1917. The novel takes place almost entirely around Lichfield, Virginia, Cabell's fictionalization of Richmond, Virginia, particularly in Kennaston's house, in the country. However, Kennaston's dreams take place in various parts of Europe and the Mediterranean basin at various times in the past. Also, part of The Cream of the Jest consists of the ending of the first version of Kennaston's novel, which is set in the Middle Ages around the castle of Storisende in a mythical country. The time covers a few years, apparently not long before the novel's publication in 1917. The Cream of the Jest consists of the ending of the first version of Kennaston's novel, which is set in the Middle Ages around the castle of Storisende in a mythical country. The time covers a few years, apparently not long before the novel's publication in 1917.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940162554554
Publisher:	Anthony Bly
Publication date:	09/16/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	603 KB

About the Author

James Branch Cabell, (April 14, 1879 – May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and belles-lettres. Cabell was well-regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken, Edmund Wilson, and Sinclair Lewis. His works were considered escapist and fit well in the culture of the 1920s, when they were most popular. For Cabell, veracity was "the one unpardonable sin, not merely against art, but against human welfare." Although escapist, Cabell's works are ironic and satirical. Mencken disputed Cabell's claim to romanticism and characterized him as "really the most acidulous of all the anti-romantics. His gaudy heroes ... chase dragons precisely as stockbrockers play golf." Cabell saw art as an escape from life, but found that, once the artist creates his ideal world, it is made up of the same elements that make the real one. nterest in Cabell declined in the 1930s, a decline that has been attributed in part to his failure to move out of his fantasy niche despite the onset of World War II. Alfred Kazin said that "Cabell and Hitler did not inhabit the same universe"