Domnei: A Comedy of Woman-Worship (1920) is a comic fantasy novel by
James Branch Cabell. Set in a world where history and fantasy collide,
where a lowly swineherd can rise to be Count of Poictesme, Domnei: A
Comedy of Woman-Worship is one of Cabell's best-known works of fiction,
and is included in a series of novels, essays, and poems known as the
Biography of the Life of Manuel. "Then Perion knew that vain regret
had turned his brain, very certainly, for it seemed the door had opened
and Dame Melicent herself had come, warily, into the panelled gloomy
room. It seemed that Melicent paused in the convulsive brilliancy of the
firelight, and stayed thus with vaguely troubled eyes like those of a
child newly wakened from sleep." As the daughter of the legendary Dom
Manuel, Count of Poictesme, Melicent is often seen not for the woman she
is, but as a symbol of an idealized, courtly love. Attracting the most
chivalrous men of the kingdom, she unwittingly sparks a terrible
conflict between Perion de la Forêt and Demetrios of Anatolia, both of
whom seem determined to prove their love at any cost. Set in a
fictionalized France of the 13th century, Domnei: A Comedy of
Woman-Worship is a captivating story of fantasy and adventure featuring
a flawed hero whose mythical world is not entirely different from our
own. Cabell's work has long been described as escapist, his novels and
stories derided as fantastic and obsessive recreations of a world lost
long ago. To read Domnei: A Comedy of Woman-Worship, however, is to
understand that the issues therein--the struggle for power, the unspoken
distance between men and women--were vastly important not only at the
time of its publication, but in our own, divisive world. With a
beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this
edition of James Branch Cabell's Domnei: A Comedy of Woman-Worship is
a classic of fantasy and romance reimagined for modern readers.
