"Figures of Earth: A Comedy of Appearances" by James Branch Cabell is a fantasy novel published in 1921. Set in the imaginary French province of Poictesme during the 13th century, it chronicles Dom Manuel the Redeemer's journey from swineherd to Count of Poictesme. This ironic romance presents an ambitious protagonist who is cowardly, treacherous, and unsatisfied with his ill-gotten gains, yet becomes transformed into legend after death. The novel explores themes of ambition, appearance versus reality, and the creation of heroic myths. (This is an automatically generated summary.)