The Cunning Man: A Novel

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Penguin Books, 1996 - Fiction - 469 pages
"A delight, a novel that travels 70 years of history on its own swift feet, a book of love and wisdom, loss and irony"--The Boston Sunday Globe

When Father Hobbes mysteriously dies at the high alter on Good Friday, Dr. Jonathan Hullah - whose holistic work has earned him the label "Cunning Man" (for the wizard of folk tradition) - wants to know why. The physician-cum-diagnostician's search for answers compels him to look back over his own long life. He conjures vivid memories of the dazzling, intellectual high jinks and compassionate philosophies of himself and his circle, including flamboyant, mystical curate Charlie Ireda≤ cynical, quixotic professor Brocky Gilmartin; outrageous banker Darcy Dwyer; and jocular, muscular artist Pansy Todhunter. In compelling and hilarious scenes from the divine comedy of life, The Cunning Man reveals profound truth about being human.

The crowning achievement of "one of the most learned, amusing... accomplished novelists of our time and... of our century." - The New York Times Book Review

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Contents

Section 1
3
Section 2
5
Section 3
9
Copyright

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About the author (1996)

William Robertson Davies was born in Thamesville, Ontario in 1913. He taught English at the University of Toronto and was an actor, journalist, and newspaper editor before winning acclaim as a novelist with Tempest-Tost, the first of his Salterton trilogy. His most famous trilogy, The Deptford Trilogy--Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders--develops the earlier Salterton novels. The locale is a fictitious Ontario city that prizes its English tradition, including the Anglican Church and the genealogy of the old families. Robertson's novels have been translated into approximately 20 languages. His masterful story-telling encompasses such issues as evil, love, fear, tradition, and magic as he brings his characters to life with wisdom and humor. Robertson Davies died in 1995.

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