Rereading: JURGEN by James Branch Cabell

Jurgen, the seventh book in the “Biography of the Life of Manuel,” is Cabell’s best known and best-selling book largely because it generated a lawsuit against the author and publisher for obscenity. The book is a romantic comedy of sorts that does include lots of sex, but always inferred and making use of sly wordplay such as the word “sword” for something else wielded by the main character. The lawsuit lasted two years, during which time the book was unavailable, but in the end author and publisher won, and in a new edition of 1923, an extra chapter was added in which Jurgen himself is tried for obscenity, so Cabell had the last laugh, and the publicity propelled his career for years.

Jurgen himself is a middle-aged man of medieval Europe, a descendant of Manuel, the figure head of a religious movement central to Cabell’s books, and as a child, Jurgen was the last person to see Manuel alive. Jurgen fancies himself a poet, but works as a pawn broker, a trade which supports him and his wife Lisa well, though Jurgen is somewhat henpecked. After a fierce argument, Lisa leaves, walking out into the wilderness, and Jurgen follows and tries to find her. He tracks her to a strange cave where he meets a mysterious old woman. Jurgen considers himself a “monstrous clever fellow,” and by flattering and amusing this powerful woman, he’s granted regained youth and a grand adventure. He goes on a quest through many lands and worlds in search of justice for himself, by which he means what he considers fair treatment, and everywhere he goes he charms and seduces women, often famous ones of story and legend, like Guinevere before she meets King Arthur, the Lady of the Lake, Helen of Troy, and so on. Jurgen’s quest takes him to both heaven and hell, and he continues to search for his wife Lisa despite several other wives he gains along the way.

I remember liking this when I first read it about fifty years ago. This time I found it amusing, but somewhat tiresome by the end, it’s a long book with a lot of the same situations often repeated. Still, as the inspiration for the comic fantasy novels of writers like Terry Pratchett, it’s worth a try, and it has lots of ironic humor. Mildly recommended.

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