The Cornish Trilogy - Robertson Davies

Written by Robertson Davies
Read by Frederick Davidson
Format: MP3
Bitrate: Mixed
Unabridged

[ The Rebel Angels |

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. Davies weaves together the destinies of this remarkable cast of characters, creating a wise and witty portrait of love, murder, and scholarship at a modern university.

11 hrs and 54 mins

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| What’s Bred in the Bone |

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.

This wonderfully ingenious portrait of an art expert and collector of international renown is told in stylish, elegant prose and endowed with lavish portions of Davies’ wit and wisdom.

16 hrs and 14 mins

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| The Lyre of Orpheus |

The Cornish Foundation, set up with money left by the late art expert, collector, and notable eccentric Francis Cornish, must choose a worthy undertaking upon which to expend a portion of its considerable funds. It is decided that the Foundation will fund the doctoral work of one Hulda Schnakenburg: a grumpy, difficult, 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 undertake to stage the opera, entitled Arthur of Britain or The Magnanimous Cuckold. As the production takes shape, Hoffmann’s restless spirit hovers rather too close for comfort, and his dictum “The lyre of Orpheus opens the door of the underworld” proves prophetic for many a participant as their lives begin to resemble the opera’s plot.

14 hrs and 43 mins

Robertson Davies (1913 - 1995) was an internationally acclaimed author, actor, publisher, and, finally, professor at the University of Toronto. The author of 12 novels and several volumes of essays and plays, he was the first Canadian to be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.