The Eagle’s Shadow (1904) is the debut novel of James Branch Cabell, a master of fantasy fiction and an underrated figure of twentieth-century American literature. Most of the novel’s 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 Selwoode’s deceased scion, Frederick. Throughout the story, the eagle-both Frederick’s chosen heraldic animal and a symbol of power-looms over their relationship. The ill-gotten nature of the family fortune-acquired through the exploitation enabled by imperialism and solidified in the shadows of Wall Street-threatens to destroy not only their love, but their entire world. The Eagle’s Shadow, a novel at times tragic and comedic, is a brilliant and bold social critique masquerading as romance, and a literary work for all time.
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