Jurgen

Jurgen, novel by James Branch Cabell, published in 1919. The New York Society for the Prevention of Vice declared Jurgen obscene and banned all displays and sales of the book. Both Jurgen and Cabell achieved considerable notoriety during the two years the book could not be sold legally; when the case came to trial, the judge recommended acquittal.

One of a series of novels Cabell wrote about the mythical medieval kingdom of Poictesme, the book chronicles the adventures of a pawnbroker named Jurgen who, motivated by guilt and gossip, sets off reluctantly in search of Dame Lisa, his loquacious nagging wife who has been abducted by the Devil. Along the way, Jurgen encounters Dorothy, the love of his youth, who does not recognize him. Through the power granted him by the earth goddess, he relives one day with Dorothy. Jurgen and legendary women such as Guinevere share erotic experiences, but he is ultimately reunited with his wife.