Project Gutenberg 2006-01-01 Public domain in the USA. 185 Cabell, James Branch 1879 1958 Cabell, Branch The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking Introduction by Wilson Follett Produced by Suzanne Shell, Virginia Paque, Anuradha Valsa, and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders "The Cords of Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking" by James Branch Cabell is a novel likely written in the early 20th century. The story follows Robert Etheridge Townsend, a young man of artistic temperament who evades the responsibilities and discomforts of life through a series of whimsical introspections and romantic entanglements, particularly with the enchanting Stella Musgrave and other women in his life. At the start of the novel, we are introduced to the protagonist as a child reflecting upon the complexities of life, love, and loss, notably through his experiences with his mother's sorrow over his father's death. The tone is distinctly playful and ironic, providing rich commentary on the nature of youth and the burdens of adulthood. Through a series of encounters, particularly a dance with Stella, the opening sets the stage for Townsend's ongoing struggle with the expectations placed upon him and his desire to shirk those obligations in favor of a more carefree existence. This nuanced interplay of themes promises a combination of humor, reflection, and societal critique as the story unfolds. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 70.3 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Authors -- Fiction United States -- Social life and customs -- Fiction Marriage -- Fiction PS Text Fantasy Category: Humour Category: Novels Category: American Literature 579892 2025-08-04T09:27:19.069491 text/html 579713 2025-01-12T17:28:35.059030 text/html 305750 2025-08-04T09:27:28.491446 application/epub+zip 314583 2025-08-04T09:27:22.318470 application/epub+zip 302761 2025-08-04T09:27:20.979497 application/epub+zip 558049 2025-08-04T09:27:33.103428 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 528148 2025-08-04T09:27:27.685450 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 465602 2022-09-05T04:47:06.205001 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 523939 2025-08-04T09:27:18.618460 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 523845 2021-01-02T06:42:59 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 523835 2021-01-02T06:42:59 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19985 2025-08-04T09:27:33.269395 application/rdf+xml 15686 2025-08-04T09:27:21.594496 image/jpeg 3645 2025-08-04T09:27:21.333446 image/jpeg 209962 2021-01-02T06:43:00 application/octet-stream application/zip 209877 2021-01-02T06:43:00 application/octet-stream application/zip 302633 2025-08-04T09:27:19.115471 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia