Product Description

The following announcement appeared in the Salterton Evening Bellman: "Professor and Mrs Walter Vambrace are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Pearl Veronica, to Solomon Bridgetower Esq, son of...". Although the malice that prompted this false engagement notice was aimed at three people only - Solly Bridgetower, Pearl Vambrace, and Gloster Ridley, the anxiety-ridden local newspaper editor - before the leaven of malice had ceased to work it had changed permanently, for good or ill, the lives of many citizens of Salterton. This is the second novel in "The Salterton Trilogy" (which also includes "Tempest-Tost" and "A Mixture of Frailties").

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #134619 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author
Robertson Davies, novelist, playwright, literary critic and essayist, was born in 1913 in Thamesville, Ontario. The Manticore was published in 1973, followed by The Salterton Trilogy (Tempest-Tost, Leaven of Malice, winner of the Leacock Award for Humour, and A Mixture of Frailties); The Deptford Trilogy (Fifth Business, The Manticore and World of Wonders); The Cornish Trilogy (The Rebel Angels, What's Bred in the Bone, shortlisted for the 1986 Booker Prize, and The Lyre of Orpheus); Murther & Walking Spirits; and The Cunning Man. His other work includes One Half of Robertson Davies, The Enthusiasms of Robertson Davies, Robertson Davies: The Well-Tempered Critic, The Papers of Samuel Marchbanks, High Spirits, A Voice from the Attic and The Merry Heart, a posthumous collection of autobiography, lectures and essays. Many of his books are published by Penguin. Robertson Davies died in December 1995.

From AudioFile
The announcement of Miss Pearl Vambrace's engagement to Mr. Solomon Bridgetower, with a wedding date set for November 31, has been placed erroneously in the Salterton Evening Bellman, causing its editor and the families of the non-betrothed great distress. In telling this humorous story, Frederick Davidson is so disdainful of the tribulations of the townspeople that it distresses the listener and ruins the story. He does the characters well, each with his and her eccentric sounds, but his languid voice suggests he's doing everyone a favor and imparts a tinge of contempt to everything. J.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

The perfect humorous novel.
A Mixture of Frailties tells two complete but entwined stories: one of Sully and his young wife who are burdened by the 'dead hand' of Sully's mother (they must produce a male heir or forfeit a fortune to 'little Miss Nobody, studying Japanese flower-arranging' under the terms of her malevolent will); another of a provincial Canadian girl, Monica, who benefits from the absurd trust established by the will, and makes her way to Europe to learn if she has any talent as an opera singer. Monica has talent, though she often confounds herself in her struggles between filial loyalty to her coarse parents and her innappropriate love for a composer of brilliance but no kindness. In the world of Robertson Davies there are always happy endings. Monica will find her heart, and her future as a singer; Sully and his wife will find a fortune and an heir; a multitude of the sort of people who ought to exist, but somehow never do, will pop up along the way. But the best thing of all? Though Robertson Davies died recently, he left three and two-thirds trilogies which merit reading and re-reading. The man whom The New York Times called "The Canadian Trollope" has left a vastly entertaining and richly humorous collection of novels, essays, and miscellany.

Davies' humour at its best
The great aspect about Davies' triogies is that each component is a stand alone novel. I read Leaven of Malice and simply enjoyed it! Davies being an editor and publisher, writes with material from experience in the editing buisness. Davies stays true to a Canadian based setting and Canadian characters. He also suggests a dignified proper tone to the book through his diction. It is amusing how these proper characters can act so immature (in their dignified way) and provide so much entertainment to the reader. Davies has the art down of conveying believable characters who do and say outrageous things, and at the same time creates characters that are used in the form of satire. This book is #2 on my list after Fifth Business...this one is a definite read. You will get a lot out of it.

Unraveling Loose Ends
Book 2 of the Salterton Trilogy. Following up on loose ends from Tempest-Tost, and immediately beginning to unravel even more. A rich plot with Dickensian characters and twists (Davies was a great Dickens scholar so no surprise here). A bit deeper than Tempest-Tost, but still obviously an early effort although showing the deft touch with dialogue and character that came to distinguish Davies as a leading novelist.