Book description
Born in Thamesville, Ontario, a student at Queens University in
Kingston in the 1930s, and editor and later publisher of the
Peterborough Examiner from the 1940s to the mid-1960s, playwright,
essayist, critic, professor, and novelist Robertson Davies (19131995)
was one of Canadas pre-eminent literary voices for more than a half-century.
Davies, with his generous beard and donnish manner, was the very
epitome of the man of letters, a term he abhorred. Best known for his
Deptford Trilogy of novels (Fifth Business, The Manticore, World of
Wonders), he also wrote two other trilogies (Salterton and Cornish)
and was at work on the third volume of another trilogy (Toronto) when
he died. With a life as rich in character and colour as that found in
his fiction and essays, Davies had a great fondness for magic and
myth, both of which are found in abundance in his work, along with a
prodigious streak of wry humour.
Nicholas Maes teaches classics at the University of Waterloo and
is also a high-school history teacher. He wrote Locksmith and Dead
Man's Float, and has published several short stories and reviews in
journals, including The Fiddlehead, Books in Canada, and The Dalhousie
Review. Originally from Montreal, he now lives in Toronto.
