Whats Bred In The Bone - Softcover

Davies, Robertson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140264329 ISBN 13: 9780140264326

Publisher: Penguin Canada, 1997

Synopsis

Cornish was always good at keeping secrets. From the well-hidden family secret of his childhood to his mysterious encounters with a small-town embalmer, a master art restorer, a Bavarian countess, and various masters of espionage, the events in Fracis' life were not always what they seemed

In this wonderfully ingenious portrait of an art expert and collector of international renown, Robertson Davies has created a spellbinding tale of artistic triumph and heroic deceit. It is a tale told in stylish, elegant prose, endowed with lavish portions of Davies' wit and wisdom.

About this title

About the Author:

Robertson Davies (1913–1995) was born and raised in Ontario, and was educated at a variety of schools, including Upper Canada College, Queen’s University, and Balliol College, Oxford. He had three successive careers: as an actor with the Old Vic Company in England; as publisher of the Peterborough Examiner; and as university professor and first Master of Massey College at the University of Toronto, from which he retired in 1981 with the title of Master Emeritus.

 

He was one of Canada’s most distinguished men of letters, with several volumes of plays and collections of essays, speeches, and belles lettres to his credit. As a novelist, he gained worldwide fame for his three trilogies: The Salterton Trilogy, The Deptford Trilogy, and The Cornish Trilogy, and for later novels Murther & Walking Spirits and The Cunning Man.

 

His career was marked by many honours: He was the first Canadian to be made an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he was a Companion of the Order of Canada, and he received honorary degrees from twenty-six American, Canadian, and British universities.

From AudioFile:

Frederick Davidson performs this intelligent and entertaining novel about the life of Francis Cornish as told by the guardian spirit who controls his fate. Cornish is a secretive man of extraordinary artistic talent, who suffers with a lonely heart. The attentive listener is aided by Davidson's portrayal of this spirit's slightly detached, but affectionate and bemused, tone towards Cornish, as well as by Davidson's reasonable pace and careful pronunciation. Seasoned with a pleasant British dialect, Davidson's cultivated tone fits well Davies's elegant writing style. In addition, Davidson employs a rhythmic rising and falling of pitch, which is surprisingly effective in entertaining and relaxing the listener. His emphases are intelligently chosen, and his characterizations of women are especially good. P.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Canada
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0140264329
• ISBN 13: 9780140264326
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 544