Cornish Trilogy

A goodhearted priest and scholar, a professor with a passion for the darker side of medieval psychology, a defrocked monk, and a rich young businessman who inherits some troublesome paintings are all helplessly beguiled by the same coed. The story is set in motion by the death of art collector Francis Cornish, and Robertson Davies weaves together the destinies of this remarkable cast of characters in smooth, lyrical prose, creating a wise and witty portrait of love, murder, and scholarship at a modern university.

Narrated by two angels acting as commentators on Francis' life, this novel is a curious blend of fable, religion, and mythology. Francis 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, an expert art restorer, a Bavarian countess, and various masters of espionage, the events in Francis' 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 and endowed with lavish portions of Davies' wit and wisdom.

The Cornish Foundation is thriving under the directorship of Arthur Cornish when he and his beguiling wife, Maria Theotoky, decide to undertake a project worthy of the late art expert, collector, and notable eccentric Francis Cornish, whose vast fortune endows the Foundation. It is decided that the Foundation will fund the doctoral work of one Hulda Schnakenburg, a grumpy, remarkably unattractive, and extraordinarily talented music student. Her task is to complete the score of an unfinished opera by the Romantic composer E. T. A. Hoffmann. Additionally, and against all common sense, the Foundation will endeavor to stage the opera, entitledArthur of Britain, or The Magnanimous Cuckold. The scholarly priest Simon Darcourt finds himself charged with writing the libretto. As the production takes shape, complications both practical and emotional arise: the gypsy in Maria's blood rises with a vengeance; Darcourt stoops to petty crime; and various others indulge in perjury, blackmail, and other unsavory pursuits. Hoffman's dictum, "The lyre of Orpheus opens the door of the underworld," proves all too true-especially when the long-hidden secrets of Francis Cornish himself are finally revealed.