The Quotable Robertson Davies: The Wit and Wisdom of the Master

Ten years after the Master’s death, we proudly publish this hypnotic little book for those who love witty quotations — especially if they come from Robertson Davies.James Channing Shaw’s brief Preface explains this delightful book:“From the time of discovery of Robertson Davies’s writing, some of my greatest pleasures in reading Davies’s work have come from his quotable aphorisms, opinions, and general advice for living. The quotations, usually no more than one sentence in length, address women, art, literature, life itself. Some quotation-worthy phrases are mere descriptions beautifully composed, or opinions about Canadian life, or a humorously irreverent insult. In Davies’s novels and plays there is an abundance of these passages, with many more in his critical writing and in the Samuel Marchbanks books.“This collection of approximately eight hundred quotations was selected from Davies’s written works. Those expressed in the spoken words of Davies’s characters are labelled with the character’s name in parentheses. Some are identified as the thoughts of the narrator. The quotations from Samuel Marchbanks, the fictional alter ego of Robertson Davies, are labelled by book title. All are quintessential Robertson Davies. Enjoy!”A very short selection from this book, where every page will lure the reader in:“Biography at its best is a form of fiction.”“Too many doctors are deeply interested in disease, but don’t care much for people.”“There is more to marriage than four bare legs in a blanket.”“Never harbour grudges; they sour your stomach and do no harm to anyone else.”