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The Biography of Manuel #15
The Jewel Merchants
This is a reproduction of the original artefact. Generally these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way the author intended. Since the original versions are generally quite old, there may occasionally be certain imperfections within these reproductions. We're happy to make these classics available again for future generations to enjoy!
60 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1921
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 15, 2022
A one act play Cabell adapted from one of his short stories (Balthazar's Daughter), done for some local theatre. Apparently it was heavily rewritten with input from the actors and producer. I'm not sure which book the original story is collected in but i have read it and this is pretty similar to my recollection.
However there was an odd emphasis on the heroine being horrified by the fact the Duke was slightly dark skinned.. maybe i'm giving Cabell too much credit but i don't think that is in his solo version.
However there was an odd emphasis on the heroine being horrified by the fact the Duke was slightly dark skinned.. maybe i'm giving Cabell too much credit but i don't think that is in his solo version.
July 24, 2016
I'm a huge fan of the Dom Manuel series, but this is one of those entries that makes me scratch my head and wonder what Cabell was thinking when he added this to his epic and famous pantheon.
It is about a woman who develops a frienship with a young jewel seller who is secretly the right hand man of the corrupt Duke who tortured her brother in boiling oil and who her family has sworn to kill. Though the premise is intriguing, there are some main problems with the play.
First, he wrote this in response to his local high school theater wishing for a screenplay off of one of his short stories, "Balthazar's Daughter," which appeared in an earlier Dom Manuel book called "A Certain Hour." It was a nice honor bestowed on him by his community and he couldn't turn it down. I'm sure it made some orgulous entertainment for the Southern debutantes and their genteel parents in Cabell's peer group, but it's a bit clunky and lacking any context for showing to any modern audience that may not be familiar with Cabell's work.
Secondly, why put this in the Dom Manuel series at all? We already had the story represented. To put it in a second time would imply the play adds something more to the meaning of the fable. But no, the play is a faithful retelling, only with unnecessary detailed descriptions of what each actor is supposed to be wearing when they come on the set. This implies that Cabell felt it necessary to control all aspects of how his characters were portrayed by his amateur troup. This then further implies that he didn't write the play with any thought about featuring it for any national or posthumous interpretation. It was simply a commission from folks he knew. So again, why did he include it in the Dom Manuel series? I can only conclude that Cabell was smarter than those who of us who've read this play, because it was his inclusion of the "Jewel Merchants" into his Storisend edition of Dom Manuel that we still have it largely in print today.
It is about a woman who develops a frienship with a young jewel seller who is secretly the right hand man of the corrupt Duke who tortured her brother in boiling oil and who her family has sworn to kill. Though the premise is intriguing, there are some main problems with the play.
First, he wrote this in response to his local high school theater wishing for a screenplay off of one of his short stories, "Balthazar's Daughter," which appeared in an earlier Dom Manuel book called "A Certain Hour." It was a nice honor bestowed on him by his community and he couldn't turn it down. I'm sure it made some orgulous entertainment for the Southern debutantes and their genteel parents in Cabell's peer group, but it's a bit clunky and lacking any context for showing to any modern audience that may not be familiar with Cabell's work.
Secondly, why put this in the Dom Manuel series at all? We already had the story represented. To put it in a second time would imply the play adds something more to the meaning of the fable. But no, the play is a faithful retelling, only with unnecessary detailed descriptions of what each actor is supposed to be wearing when they come on the set. This implies that Cabell felt it necessary to control all aspects of how his characters were portrayed by his amateur troup. This then further implies that he didn't write the play with any thought about featuring it for any national or posthumous interpretation. It was simply a commission from folks he knew. So again, why did he include it in the Dom Manuel series? I can only conclude that Cabell was smarter than those who of us who've read this play, because it was his inclusion of the "Jewel Merchants" into his Storisend edition of Dom Manuel that we still have it largely in print today.
February 22, 2020
I am led to understand that it was very typical of Cabell, who was writing in the 1920s, to choose to pen medieval romances. He does it frankly very well - although in this instance he spends the majority of the prologue denying that he had much to do with the writing, since his original version, he says, did not act out at all well and therefore the cast and director all but re-wrote it for him. Whoever is really responsible, the result is a very pleasing short play whose plot feels very Shakespearean with its tragic lovers and a classic case of identity deception. I'm not sure I can find a great deal of comedy in it, although it's there at odd moments. The pointed villany of a "dark skinned" Duke sits a little uncomfortably these days but I hope the lady's disgust was intended as a satire even when written. Overall, for a three-character, one-scene play, this is a very charming piece.
I'm not familiar with his main body of work although I understand he was prolific, writing more than 40 books and this one short play is atypical of his format, but not his content. I'll be looking into exploring Cabell Cabell further after this short introduction.
I'm not familiar with his main body of work although I understand he was prolific, writing more than 40 books and this one short play is atypical of his format, but not his content. I'll be looking into exploring Cabell Cabell further after this short introduction.
November 15, 2025
The Jewel Merchants, the only play written by James Branch Cabell, is based on the story "Balthazaar's Daughter" from The Certain Hour. According to Cabell's introduction in The Jewel Merchants, he was asked to write the play by the Little League Theatre, an amateur dramatic group in Cabell's home town of Richmond, Virginia. The play was subsequently produced at the Binford High School Auditorium on February 22, 1921. The Jewel Merchants was published in standalone book format by Robert McBride in 1921, and bundled with Cabell's book of poetry, From the Hidden Way, to constitute Volume 13 in the Storisende Edition of the Biography of the Life of Manuel in 1929.
Again according to the introduction, the play was substantially altered and rewritten by the actors and the director, Miss Louise Burleigh, during rehearsal. Presumably this edited version is what made it to the book of 1921, though I can't be sure. The play reads with more sentimentality than the original story, which perhaps represents the influence of the actors and director rather than the typically urbane and cynical Cabell.
My copy of the book has penciled acting or directing notes throughout and a further note on the flyleaf that "Madrigal in May" is to be sung, presumably as a curtain-raiser. Much as I would like to imagine this volume was Miss Burleigh's own copy, it seems more likely that the book was printed some months after the initial production of the play, and that these notes refer to a later production of The Jewel Merchants.
The story involves the efforts of Count Eglamore, lieutenant of corrupt and evil Duke Alessandro de Medici, to protect the jewel merchant's daughter, Graciosa, from the predations of the Duke. It's a love story, of course, which ends well both in the short story and the play. The play reads more quickly and easily than the short story, perhaps through the influence of the acting group to remove any of Cabell's phrasing they found obscure or difficult.
I wonder if Cabell was influenced by the example of Dunsany to write this play. The latter, amazingly, was far better known at the time as a dramatist than as a writer of fantasy short stories. Cabell knew of Dunsany, of course, and I suspect that Cabell's own turn to fantasy, with Jurgen, Figures of Earth, etc., was taken from the example of Dunsany.
The Jewel Merchants, though not great, is unique and unusual among Cabell's work. No doubt it will appeal to any Cabell completionists, like me, working their way through the Biography of the Life of Manuel.
Again according to the introduction, the play was substantially altered and rewritten by the actors and the director, Miss Louise Burleigh, during rehearsal. Presumably this edited version is what made it to the book of 1921, though I can't be sure. The play reads with more sentimentality than the original story, which perhaps represents the influence of the actors and director rather than the typically urbane and cynical Cabell.
My copy of the book has penciled acting or directing notes throughout and a further note on the flyleaf that "Madrigal in May" is to be sung, presumably as a curtain-raiser. Much as I would like to imagine this volume was Miss Burleigh's own copy, it seems more likely that the book was printed some months after the initial production of the play, and that these notes refer to a later production of The Jewel Merchants.
The story involves the efforts of Count Eglamore, lieutenant of corrupt and evil Duke Alessandro de Medici, to protect the jewel merchant's daughter, Graciosa, from the predations of the Duke. It's a love story, of course, which ends well both in the short story and the play. The play reads more quickly and easily than the short story, perhaps through the influence of the acting group to remove any of Cabell's phrasing they found obscure or difficult.
I wonder if Cabell was influenced by the example of Dunsany to write this play. The latter, amazingly, was far better known at the time as a dramatist than as a writer of fantasy short stories. Cabell knew of Dunsany, of course, and I suspect that Cabell's own turn to fantasy, with Jurgen, Figures of Earth, etc., was taken from the example of Dunsany.
The Jewel Merchants, though not great, is unique and unusual among Cabell's work. No doubt it will appeal to any Cabell completionists, like me, working their way through the Biography of the Life of Manuel.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews