The late Robertson Davies is remembered best for his three trilogies (although he may not have intended the individual novels to form "trilogies" from the git-go). There's the largely comic SALTERTON TRILOGY, written in the Fifties; the best-known DEPTFORD TRILOGY from the late Sixties/Seventies. Davies' CORNISH TRILOGY was written during the 1980s, just after Davies' thirteen-year term as founding Master of Toronto University's Massey College came to an end. (In case you were wondering, Massey

Robertson Davies is at once the P.G. Wodehouse of Anglo-Protestant Ontario and its John Ruskin; that is to say he writes delightful farces about the social, cultural and intellectual elites of Ontario set in the second half of the twentieth century. At the same he presents extremely conservative but highly lucid theses about literature, painting and music. I am horrified to discover how often I agree with him. I am in absolute agreement with him on the tremendous merits of "Golden Ass" by Apulei...

I'm currently re-reading my collection of Robertson Davies. I LOVE THIS MAN. His prose is so elegant, so kindly disposed toward human frailty (but not unwilling to jest about it). In a wondrous way, all of his novels convince me-- to the heart-- that there are mysterious and benign forces at work in our world.He is my "literary god"!I recommend "The Deptford Trilogy" for its lively and insightful portrayal of theater folk and musicians and "The Papers of Samuel Marchbanks"-- not a novel but a co...

The Cornish Trilogy consists of three books. Each could stand on its own, but since they feature the same characters, and have similar themes and structures (in each book, for instance, the characters discuss a different artist), you should read them in order. The plot is too complex to explain in detail, but suffice it to say that the cast of characters, which includes a defrocked monk, a graduate student, her Roma mother who uses human feces to repair valuable violins, an Anglican priest, and

The Cornish Trilogy has a special place in my heart, as it was the first of Davies's books that I ever had the good fortune to read.Davies is my absolute favorite author, and I view his bulky trilogies almost as security blankets. I've read each several times, and yet they never seem to repeat themselves.His writing is warm and witty; he has love for all his characters, even the not-so-easy to love ones. And all get exactly what they deserve.This particular trilogy deals with college life, art f...

The series that made Davies one of my favorite writers. His language is brilliant, his characters are fantastically human, but it's the way he can delve into any subject--operatic vocal performance, the medieval diet, art forgery, Rabelais, gypsy fortune-telling--that makes his books such a delight.The last book in this trilogy, The Lyre of Orpheus, is also the source of one of the best lines ever: "A Philistine is someone who is content to live in a wholly unexplored world."

Phew, I am glade I am finished. Not because it was terrible slog (within 12 pages I missed university), but because there was so much of it, 1137 pages (admittedly 3 books, but there was something magical about reading them in one chunk), there are so many gorgeous ideas about art and philosophy knotted together, there were times it did feel like the ghost of Robinson Davis was sneaking into my room and adding more pages because he had a last minute idea.So yes this book was a challenge. It did

Of the Davies trilogies, this is my favorite. Each book is a masterpiece: the"Rebel Angels" is a fascinating novel with a powerful intrigue where alchemy, greed and comedy brush elbows. The characters are truly extraordinary in their eccentricity. What is bred in the bone is a biography of sort, the corner stone of the trilogy, a deep dive into art, truth and illusion. The Lyre of Orpheus closes the trilogy with some resolution for some of the characters but also with an incredibly entertaining

The second book in the Cornish trilogy (Cornish is the name of a couple of the characters) was way more involving than the first. It's the life story of Francis Cornish, and what a life. In the first book -- The Rebel Angels -- Francis has died and that book is about the three people Francis chose as executors of his estate. Francis was an art collector.In Bone, we learn that he was much more than an art collector. His story is told in detail by his "Daimon" and the Recording Angel.I thought it

If you have not read Robertson Davies, please do yourself a favor and read something by him, preferably one of the trilogies in its entirety. I think my favorite is "The Cornish Trilogy," although "The Deptford Trilogy" is a close second. The fact is that Davies seems incapable of writing a dull word. However, the send up of academia and the church in "Rebel Angels" is screamingly funny. Also, the production of a hitherto unknown opera by E.T.A. HOffman in "The Lyre of Orpheus" is spot on if you...

I won't review this specifically, as I read the individual hardcovers comprising it, but in short:The Rebel Angels ***What's Bred in the Bone***** (one of his VERY best!)The Lyre of Orpheus****So all in all, rather a good innings for the last of Davies' three trilogies, though personally I have a real soft spot for the first one, the "Salterton Trilogy".

From the other reviews I've read of Davies, it seems that the consensus is that the Deptford trilogy is his best work. I disagree, though it's possible that I do so only because I read this whole trilogy first and hence it holds a special place for me. At any rate, it's a wonderful place to start reading Davies, where his usual dizzying variety of characters spin out their lives, together and separately, and the plotline is interspersed with discussions of Rabelais, Gypsy methods of violin resto...

Don't ask me why I read this trilogy three times. I can't say that of Davies' other works (Even though I've read most of them). Perhaps it's because each stands alone, but yet as a whole the group is so much better as a group than individual books. Do trudge all the way through the first book. Perservere through the second. The third was my favorite. I have visions of violins "curing" in doo-doo for a year and in the end magically becoming something other-worldly in their value and quality.... S...

"A Philistine is someone who is content to live in a wholly unexplored world." This series has a special place in my heart. The characters feel fully dimensional, the humor is smart and intriguing, and anyone who feels the barbs of academic life would greatly enjoy this series.

I first read Robertson Davies twenty-five years ago and much of it was over my head, so now I'm rereading everything. This trilogy is absolutely my favourite. It's a world, a universe. This is the one I'll want to reread for a third time.

I have just finished the first of this trilogy (The Rebel Angels). It's not like any novel I have read before. It's well written, with a cast of interesting/eccentric characters and the basis of a plot, but the narrative drive is limited and I spent the first half of the book wondering what the point of the story was. And yet.... when I got into periods of concentrated reading of the novel, I found it strangely absorbing. So if you are willing to absorb yourself into world of the academics and g...

The Rebel Angels Robertson Davies’ The Rebel Angels is an engaging and energetic novel with a vigorous sense of humor. The novel reads quickly and never feels weighed down by ideas or seriousness. This is deceptive.[return][return]Davies gives us a novel populated by Medieval and Renaissance scholars. Their intellectual landscape is thus not unnaturally populated by Paracelsus and Rabelais, two constant figures in the dialectic of the novel. Of the two, Rabelais seems the most significant. He

This has all the makings of a classic - it's well-written, it's intelligent, it's somewhat educational, but it's pretty dense and there isn't a whole lot of action, so reading very large stretches of it at a time gets somewhat tiring. And this beast is over 1300 pages long, so I've been gnawing on it for two months - but while there were times I didn't want to pick it up just then, there was never any question that I wanted to finish it. In retrospect, it may be one of the best things I've ever

This is one of the more memorable reads I've had in quite a while--both because of the length of this epic and also the brilliance of the writing. Canadian Robertson Davies is a truly literary writer with a vast range of knowledge that is rare to find and a joy to read. His extensive vocabulary kindles an appreciation for linguistics--both the sound and the meaning of words. He is a superb storyteller who portrays characters with depth who develop as the saga progresses over several generations

I've owned this trilogy for a while now, but I had only read the first book in it ("The Rebel Angels"). It didn't strike me as deeply as the Deptford Trilogy. Now, however, I've just finished "What's Bred in the Bone." I've gone ahead and pushed the review up to five stars. I'll probably get to the last one this summer, and then I'll revisit this review and do my best to explain why Robertson Davies does more good for my soul than any other twentieth-century writer I've yet found.(Finished “The

One of my friends has read What's Bred In The Bone, which is what reminded me of this trilogy, which I had in one fat paperback. Since I see the trilogy was published in that format in 1988, let's say I read this in about 1990. I loved it. It was a great reading experience. Best was the middle novel, the one my friend is reading. It was an adventure about a man who uses his great expertise as an artist to engage in art forgery to thwart Nazi aims regarding art. I'm not sure whether his early sel...

After being so thoroughly delighted with Davies’ Deptford trilogy, I immediately purchased this collection (it was a choice between the Cornish and the Salterton trilogy, and the Cornish won because (1) Dwight Brown recommended it and (2) the store had it). Like the Deptford trilogy, the Cornish trilogy revolves around a single character, but it works its way through the lives of many others as well.In a sense, The Rebel Angels is two novellas that are split into the same number of chapters that...

Astonishing breadth and vision. Davies never wastes a word and the stories are fascinating on every level. Intellectual protagonists show their best and worst facets as they pick their way through professional and personal minefields. The writing is sensational and the frequent digressions into morality, philosophy and, occasionally, mysticism work entirely. The balance, or lack of it, between the old, established ways of university life and the dynamic young intellects which challenge them is f...

I wrote a long-winded review of the The Debtford Trilogy, which sums up a lot of why I like Robertson Davies, so I would start there if you'd like my opinion.As for this particular series, which I love even more (likely because I read it first), I'll just say that I wish I knew more about the Roma people, I love the complexity of the character Maria, the history of excrement is fascinating, and the last book has such a fantastic opera scene that I wished it were real and almost cried with joy at...

Mid 1. Robertson Davies has tested the boundaries of when literature no longer fulfils its purpose of acquiring readership in its self-inflated arrogance of illustrating erudition. The middle book of the trilogy served as a welcome hiatus in the dense and tangled web of allegory and art criticism. Will debate long and hard as to whether to attempt any further trilogies by this author.

I got about 175 pages in, but I have to set it aside. There are some interesting characters, but the experience of reading it is like being at a college lecture that never ends, on a subject that you're only somewhat interested in. The university setting is claustrophobic, and all of the characters wax philosophical in nearly the same voice, which is tiring.

Out of the three trilogies, most would say that the Deptford Triolgy is best, however I loved this the most..

Such an underrated and elegant writer. This was my last Davies read and I am so bummed that my time with this erudite, funny man has to come to a close.

I believe this is the last trilogy that Davies completed. They just get better and better. A great way for aspiring art forgers to gain inspiration.

I should say that I'm currently re-reading these novels. Just as fantastically written and funny the second time around.