The Salterton Trilogy

Rating:
Summary: Lightly humorous, a great introduction to Davies
Review: This trilogy was the first I read of Robertson Davies. I went on to read the Deptford trilogy and the Cornish trilogy as well as other assorted works. These three books are definitely a great introduction to his style. One thing that Davies excels at is characterization, and these books (particularly Tempest-Tost) are full of amusing and interesting characters. Tempest-Tost is the story of an amateur group putting on a Shakespeare play, and the plot is amusing and entertaining. I would say Tempest-Tost is the most humorous of the three, particularly with all of Freddy Webster's dialogue and the drunken choir master. Leaven of Malice involves a mysteriously submitted incorrect newspaper announcement which somehow involves an interesting twist of fate. Leaven wraps up very neatly and you will appreciate the ending of it. Mixture of Frailties is sort of a domestic novelistic story and quite different from other Davies I have read. I think that buying all three books of the trilogy together is a good idea, because you will definitely want to read each proceeding book. I would recommend this book to anyone who has heard of Robertson Davies but isn't sure which of his books to read. These three novels are very accessible to all levels of readers.

Rating:
Summary: A First Glimpse of Robertson Davies.
Review: What Robertson Davies had achieved by the time he wrote the final word in the Cornish Trilogy was foretold from the first word of the Salterton Trilogy. His ability to tell a story out did itself with each successive novel and my enjoyment from reading them increased in commensurate measure. The most appealling aspect in all of Davies' work was that I often felt that I, myself, could have been one of his characters because none of them were ever larger than life, but his way of describing them always revealed an essence in theirs that I had overlooked in mine. I know a good deal more about the human condition now than I ever did before I began to read Robertson Davies.