Footnotes
[1] “James Branch Cabell is making a clean getaway with Jurgen, quite the naughtiest book since George Moore began ogling maidservants in Mayo. How come? Dreiser had the law hot after him for The Genius and Hager Revelly came close to landing Daniel Carson Goodman in Leavenworth, yet these volumes are innocent compared with Jurgen, which deftly and knowingly treats in thinly veiled episodes of all the perversities, abnormalities and damn-foolishness of sex. There is an undercurrent of extreme sensuality throughout the book, and once the trick of transposing the key is mastered one can dip into this tepid stream on every page. Cabell has cleansed his bosom of much perilous stuff—a little too much, in fact, for Jurgen grows tiresome toward the end—but he has said everything about the mechanics of passion and said it prettily. He has a gift of dulcet English prose, but I like better the men who say things straight out and use gruff Anglo-Saxon monosyllables for the big facts of nature that we are supposed to ignore.
“It is curious how the non-reading public discovered Jurgen. A few days after it appeared on the newsstands a male vampire of the films who once bought Stevenson’s Underwoods in the belief that it was a book of verses hymning a typewriter, began saying up and down Broadway: ‘Say, kid, get a book called Jurgen. It gets away with murder.’
“This sold the first edition quickly. How do they discover these things?”
Walter J. Kingsley.
[3] “John S. Sumner, Agent New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, being duly sworn, says: That on the 6th day of January, 1920, and prior, and sworn thereto at the city and county aforesaid Robert M. McBride & Company, a corporation, and Guy Holt, manager of said corporation, Book Department, did at No. 31 East 17th Street in the city and county aforesaid, unlawfully print, utter, publish, manufacture and prepare, and did unlawfully sell and offer to sell and have in their possession with intent to sell a certain offensive, lewd, lascivious and indecent book, in violation of Section 1141 of Penal Code of the State of New York. At the time and place aforesaid, the said Robert M. McBride & Company by and through its officers, agents and employees did print, publish, sell and distribute and on information and belief the said Guy Holt did prepare for publication and cause to be printed, published, sold and distributed a certain book entitled Jurgen by one James Branch Cabell, which said book represents and is descriptive of scenes of lewdness and obscenity, and particularly upon pages 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 63, 64, 67, 80, 84, 86, 89, 92, 93, 98, 99, 100, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 114, 120, 124, 125, 127, 128, 134, 135, 142, 144, 148, 149, 150, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 170, 171, 174, 175, 176, 177, 186, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 203, 206, 207, 211, 228, 229, 236, 237, 238, 239, 241, 242, 271, 272, 275, 286, 321, 340, 342, 343, thereof, and which said book is so obscene, lewd, lascivious and indecent that a minute description of the same would be offensive to the Court and improper to be placed upon the records thereof. Wherefore a fuller description of the same is not set forth in this complaint....”
[4] COURT OF GENERAL SESSIONS OF THE PEACE IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK
People of the State of New York:
vs
Guy Holt, Robert M. McBride & Co.,
and Robert M. McBride:
THE GRAND JURY OF THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK by this indictment, accuse Guy Holt, Robert M. McBride & Co. and Robert M. McBride of the crime of UNLAWFULLY POSSESSING AN INDECENT BOOK, committed as follows:
The said Guy Holt, Robert M. McBride & Co., a corporation at all times herein mentioned existing under the laws of the State of New York, and Robert M. McBride, acting together and in concert, in the County of New York aforesaid, on the 14th day of January, 1920, and for a considerable time prior thereto, with intent to sell and show, unlawfully possessed a lewd, lascivious, indecent, obscene and disgusting book entitled JURGEN, a more particular description of which said book would be offensive to this Court and improper to be spread upon the records thereof, wherefore such description is not here given; against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace of the people of the State of New York, and their dignity.
Edward Swann,
District Attorney.
[5] The numerals in parentheses refer to the pages.
[6] (Cf. the old Scottish Border legend, “The Eve of St. John”, to be found in Scott’s “Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border”; and Compton Mackenzie’s latest novel, “Altar Steps”.)
[7] It would be impossible to go further except by quoting all (290–308). It should be read.