pIThe Eagles ShadowI 1904 is the debut novel of James Branch Cabell a master of fantasy fiction and an underrated figure of twentiethcentury American literature. The novel is significant for being among few of Cabells works to take place both around the time of its publication and to be set in the contemporary world. Like many of his works however it paints an intricate portrait of romance and power immersing its reader into a fiction more real than theyd care to admit.p pMost of the novels action occurs at Selwoode a recently built mansion located in the English countryside. Following the death of her uncle Frederick Margaret Hugonin finds herself his unlikely heiress and is thrust into a life she could not have prepared for even if she had managed to imagine it in the first place. As she faces down suitor after suitor while enduring a routine of lessons on philanthropy culture and charity she navigates the complexities of her love for Billy Woods her cousin through marriage and the nephew of Selwoodes deceased scion Frederick. Throughout the story the eagleboth Fredericks chosen heraldic animal and a symbol of powerlooms over their relationship. The illgotten nature of the family fortuneacquired through the exploitation enabled by imperialism and solidified in the shadows of Wall Streetthreatens to destroy not only their love but their entire world. IThe Eagles ShadowI a novel at times tragic and comedic is a brilliant and bold social critique masquerading as romance and a literary work for all time.p pCabells 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 IThe Eagles ShadowI however is to understand that the issues thereinthe struggle for power the unspoken distance between men and womenwere vastly important not only at the time of its publication but in our own divisive world.p pWith a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript this edition of