The Lyre of Orpheus (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Robertson Davies
- First Published: 1988
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: The early 1980’s
- Setting: Toronto and Stratford
- Principal Characters: Simon Darcourt, Arthur Cornish, Maria Cornish, Geraint Powell, Hulda “Schnak” Schnakenburg, Dr. Gunilla Dahl-Soot
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: Love or romance, Education or educators, Creative process, Canada or Canadians, Hallucinations or illusions, Drama or dramatists, Colleges or universities, Angels, Opera, operas, or operettas
- Locales: Toronto, Canada
The Lyre of Orpheus is the final installment of what might become known as Robertson Davies’ Cornish Trilogy, a masterly series of interlocking narrations examining the correspondences between life and art. The central figure in the trilogy, central as exemplar of Davies’ concerns (Darcourt is his key commentator), is Francis Cornish—a mysterious figure whose life as an artist and government agent is detailed in What’s Bred in the Bone (1985), though much of it is summarized here and newly understood. Simon Darcourt’s task is to uncover the secrets of that life...
[The entire page is 1961 words long]
