Figures of Earth

Figures of Earth, subtitled "A Comedy of Appearances", follows the vicissitudes of Dom Manuel the Redeemer from his lowly swineherd origins through his unlikely elevation to the Count of Poictesme, and beyond. Poor Manuel starts out life as a lowly swineherd, but rises to become the famous Dom Manuel, the legendary, even mythic, hero of many of Cabell's novels. He begins, like the simpleton in "Jack in the Beanstalk" and other folktales, by taking literally his mother's advice to Figures of clay.... But Manuel turns out to be a master of guile, a trickster hero, if you will. His guiding motto is: "The world wishes to be deceived."