Valmouth is one of Firbank's most dazzling novels. Set in an English seaside health resort where the air promotesextraordinary longevity, Valmoutb is dominated by the exotic and manipulative black masseuse, Mrs Yajnavalkya.Unhampered by class or creed, the ubiquitous Yajfiavalkya moves between the strata of Valmouth society, bringing relief that is not without elements of eroticism. Firbank's elegant fantasy that is rich with religious and sexual innuendo culminates in a most unconventional union that is celebrated with a double Christening. The charm of Firbank's work, which lies in the cadences of his prose, his wit gaiety and exoticism, remains irresistable.

Published in 1919, Valmoutb is among Firbank"s best-known works. The novel is an elegant fantasy set in an English seaside health resort with properties that Firbank, an invalid himself, must have relished. The Valmouth air promotes longevity, and the principal characters in the novel have duly profited. A statue in the market square commemorates a local worthy who lived from 1698--1803, and many references to figures and events of the eighteenth century attest to the great ages of the central protagonists, Mrs Hurstpierpoint of Hare-Hatch House and her companion, Mrs Thoroughfare. Firbank had originally planned to call the novel The Centenarians of Glenfurry.

Valmouth - A Romantic Novel

Sorrow in Sunlight(also known as Prancing Nigger)

Concerning the Eccentricities of Cardinal Pirelli