The Certain Hour

By James Branch Cabell

Book Overview

A sharp, shimmering voice from a vanished age returns to light in The Certain Hour. A tale that blends wit, wonder and wonderment, it invites readers to test the edges between illusion and reality while chasing power, desire, and meaning. Cabell's mixture of literary fantasy satire and mythic romantic fantasy is both a sly critique of modern ambitions and a lyrical meditation on longing and identity. The book moves with a clarity that appeals to casual readers and scholars alike, offering a compact, richly textured rumination on rites of passage classics, set against early twentieth century america and the evolving American literary context. Its mythic motifs and modernity sit beside sharp social satire, turning private longing into a mirror of public longing. This is more than a republication: Alpha Editions restores a work long out of print for decades, reviving a cultural treasure for today's readers and future generations. It is a collector's item, a touchstone for classic literature students and public domain readers who seek depth, nuance, and historical resonance. The Certain Hour stands as evidence of Cabell's place among mythic fantasy predecessors, a skilful threaded meditation on illusion versus reality, power and desire, and the changing contours of literary form. A work that rewards rereading, it invites both fresh discovery and scholarly reflection-a seamless bridge between yesteryear and now.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9354848451
• ISBN13: 9789354848452
• Release Date: August 2021
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 142 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

"Figures of Earth?"

Tales of the "spiritual" descendants of Dom Manuel the Reedemer, carefully annotated by expert commentary. Figures of earth have feet of clay.

Poets Provide Time and the Commonplace with immortality

. . . "They of Poictesme narrate that Queene Freydis thereafter did giue Lyfe to these muddie Ymages, eche at a certayne Houre, and that her sotyll scyaunce of Ergomancy sett these x to liue among Mans Kind," . . .Poets and bottles come in different shapes and sizes, but both should be judged by their contents not their labels. The poets in these ten stories range in time from the early 13th century to that of the 20th.In 1210, the chivalrous Raimbault de Vaquieras, a 30 year veteran of the Crusades, returned to France and made peace with a long time enemy. When he was told by Dona Biatritz, his long time friend and lover, that his enemy was planning his murder, Raimbault refused to negate his oath and take action. However, Dona B.was not restrained by any such an oath. In 1533, the beautiful Graciosa Balthazar not yet 16, attracted the attention of Duke Alessandro de Medici and Count Eglamore,the duke's hatchet man, and found herself forced to make a choice between two evils. In 1609, William Shakespeare found his talents waning, but found new inspiration in the creed of Judith, his unlettered daughter. In 1674, Robert Herrick, the eccentric clergyman and poet, disappeared. His friends Sir Thomas Browne and Philip Borsdale learned that RH had dabbled in magic with tragic consequences. In May of 1680, Robert Wycherley, poet, fop and social gadfly, failed to make a remunerative marriage and was saved from drowning by an unexpected turn of events. In 1718, Alexander Pope, the small, disfigured poet and satirist, tried to bestow a generous gift on a young couple, but failed to do so. In 1681, Robert Calverley resigned an important state position to save the life of his wife Honoria who he had literally stolen from the Marquis of Umfraville before their expected marriage. He returned to England despite warnings from friends that his actions had outraged many in high places and now,they wanted revenge. He was saved from ruin by an unselfish act of a scheming relative. In 1795, Richard Sheridan, poet-politician, married Miss Esther Jane Ogle known as "the irresistible Ogle," after being rebuffed by her many, many times. On Sheridan's turf, Miss Ogle proved to be no match for the wily politician. In 1803, Crown Prince Hilary of Saxe-Kesselberg, staged his funeral, changed his name to Paul Vanderhoffen and fled to England to become a poet and writer. After a series of events, one of which almost ended in his death, he married Mildred Claridge and became a writer on Grub Street. John Charteris, a distinguised writer and lecturer, gave a Commencement Speech at his alma mater and thought he had a chance to rekindle a relationship with Pauline Romeyne, a former lover, until his friend Rudolph Musgrave ruined his plan with a dose of reality. The 21 page "Auctorial Induction" should be read both before and after reading the ten tales. In it, JBC makes a number of penetrating observations about the 1916 literary s