James Branch Cabell

Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1879, he became an American writer known for fantasy, satire, and literary fiction. Reference works describe him as especially famous for Jurgen (1919), the novel that brought him wide attention, and note that he spent most of his life in Richmond.

His work ranged far beyond a single book. Sources credit him with dozens of volumes, including fantasy and science fiction, essays, short stories, poetry, genealogy, and comedies of manners. He is also closely associated with the imagined realm of Poictesme, the setting that links many of his best-known works.

Although his reputation rose and fell over time, he was admired by notable contemporaries and remains an interesting figure in early American fantasy. He died in Richmond in 1958.