Robertson Davies lists Joyce's "Ulysses" among the books that have most inspired him and to which he most often returns.
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The San Francisco Chronicle reviewer claims that PILGRIM is "both profound and entertaining in a way that recalls the engaging wit of Robertson Davies."
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"Robertson Davies, regarded by many as the premier Canadian man of letters of his era, was an intellectual man for all seasons. Author, wit, actor, teacher, critic, playwright, he was sometimes referred to as a Canadian throwback to Samuel Johnson..."
"I want to reach people. I want them to hear what I have to say, because I think that it is of interest and of value, and therefore I exert myself to amuse them....I try to write books that people like to read and not just puzzles. I've tried to make my books that people can read with pleasure, and not just to hammer them over the head and lecture them."
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Davies was born in a small Canadian town that he later drew on when he created the town of Deptford in his famous trilogy. The son of a senator, he studied literature both in his native Canada and at Oxford, where he received a B.Lit. in 1938 with a thesis on Shakespeare's boy actors. After university, he worked in the theater--as an actor and also behind the scenes--including a stint at the Old Vic, and remained infatuated with it all his life. Several of his plays were produced upon his return more...
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08/28/1913 Ontario, Canada,
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Above all, a great read.
I know many prefer the magician trilogy (Deptford), but this trilogy is my favorite, especially the second book. The theme of the trilogy is authenticity (and the illusion of) and the characters are an odd troubled lot with the central character, Francis Cornish (who's dead in the first and third books) being the only one who's really got a grip. Great send up of academia, the art world, and the publically funded spectacle.