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What's Bred in the Bone
(The Cornish Trilogy #2)
by
Francis Cornish was always good at keeping secrets. From the well-hidden family secret of his childhood to his mysterious encounters with a small -town embalmer, an expert art restorer, a Bavarian countess, and various masters of espionage, the events in Francis's life were not always what they seemed.
In this wonderfully ingenious portrait of an art expert and collector of ...more
In this wonderfully ingenious portrait of an art expert and collector of ...more
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Ο Ντέιβις είναι ένα ιδιαίτερο κράμα συγγραφέα: γράφει σαν Βρετανός παρότι είναι Καναδός (βλ. εμβρίθεια, καυστικότητα, αυτοσαρκασμός και μικρές δόσεις κυνικότητας), οι ιστορίες έχουν ένα υψηλό επίπεδο πνεύματος το οποίο δεν χρησιμοποιείται προς εντυπωσιασμό ή καλλωπισμό, αλλά είναι τα πράγματα που απασχολούν τον συγγραφέα και από τα οποία φτιάχνει ιστορίες. Ωστόσο στα βιβλία του το πάνω χέρι έχει η καλή ιστορία - δεν είναι ένας φαφλατάς διανοούμενος, αλλά ένας παραμυθάς ο Ντέιβις με τον τρόπο που
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This is Robertson Davies’ best book. No, really it is. And he’s written some pretty awesome ones, let me tell you. Certainly, at the very least, I can say that this one is my favourite. It has everything I want and expect from a book by Davies: a concentration on artistic and intellectual matters, exploration into the ways in which heredity and upbringing shape the soul of an individual, characters who are both ‘realistic’ and odd, witty insights into human nature and foibles at both the individ
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This novel has been penned by Canadian author Robertson Davies and is the second book in the Cornish trilogy, but it can be read as a standalone novel.
I had chanced upon this book while book hunting in a second hand bookstore. I had never heard of Robertson Davies but something about the book, most probably the blurb appealed to me and I bought it.
The story starts with a meeting between the sole three members of the newly founded Cornish Foundation for Promotion of the Arts and Humane Scholarshi ...more
I had chanced upon this book while book hunting in a second hand bookstore. I had never heard of Robertson Davies but something about the book, most probably the blurb appealed to me and I bought it.
The story starts with a meeting between the sole three members of the newly founded Cornish Foundation for Promotion of the Arts and Humane Scholarshi ...more
Although starting with the same characters who inhabit The Rebel Angels, What's Bred in the Bone, the second book of The Cornish Trilogy, is a prequel. How to tell the story of Frank Cornish, recently deceased eccentric uncle, wealthy banker and, more mysteriously, art collector and patron, when so little is known to the living characters?
Listen to this dialogue between the Anglican-priest-turned-scholar and would-be biographer Simon Darcourt and the beautiful Maria, recently wed to Frank's neph ...more
Listen to this dialogue between the Anglican-priest-turned-scholar and would-be biographer Simon Darcourt and the beautiful Maria, recently wed to Frank's neph ...more
Η ιστορία λοιπόν των Κόρνις συνεχίζεται από το σημείο που σταμάτησε στο πρώτο βιβλίο. Mε μια διαφορά όμως. Ένα φλας μπακ. Μια αναδρομή στο παρελθόν του μαικήνα Φράνσις Κόρνις...
Ο πάτερ Νταρκούρ θέλει να γράψει την βιογραφία του ιδιόρρυθμου Φράνσις Κόρνιςμε την βοήθεια του ανεψιού του Άρθουρ και της συζύγου του Μαρία Θεοτόκη. Από κει και μετά παίρνουν την σκυτάλη δυο άγγελοι -ή μήπως δαίμονες-, ο Ήσσων Ζαδκιήλ ο Άγγελος της βιογραφίας και ο Δαίμων Μαιμάς ο προστάτης άγγελος του Φράνσις.
Μέσω των ...more
Ο πάτερ Νταρκούρ θέλει να γράψει την βιογραφία του ιδιόρρυθμου Φράνσις Κόρνιςμε την βοήθεια του ανεψιού του Άρθουρ και της συζύγου του Μαρία Θεοτόκη. Από κει και μετά παίρνουν την σκυτάλη δυο άγγελοι -ή μήπως δαίμονες-, ο Ήσσων Ζαδκιήλ ο Άγγελος της βιογραφίας και ο Δαίμων Μαιμάς ο προστάτης άγγελος του Φράνσις.
Μέσω των ...more
An artist friend gave this book to me, years ago when we were both in school. He didn't tell me anything about it, but since I liked him and his art work, I gave the book a try and went on to be a huge fan of the author, searching out everything I could find by him to read over the years. Being an artist myself, and painting in a rather traditional manner like the protagonist, it was bracing to read Davies' account of an artist who felt out of step in a Modern era -- much like I did, trying to m
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What's Bred in the Bone is the second of a trilogy of books which are bound together by the life of one Francis Cornish, Canadian artist, critic, and collector, and by a host of other characters who are tied to him in one way or another. This book tells Cornish's life story, starting from a conversation between his heirs and his biographer and featuring interjections from a pair of supernatural beings, the Lesser Zadkiel (the Angel of Biography) and Maimon, Francis's personal daimon. The daimons
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What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies is my favourite novel. It is the second in the otherwise unremarkable Cornish trilogy and details the life of the second Francis Cornish from birth to death, including a confusing religious upbringing by everyone but his parents in a rural Ontario town, his education from 'Spook' to Oxford, his apprenticeship in art fraud to cheat the Nazis and his secret life as a spy. Along the way, Cornish 'assassinates' an art faker as it takes one to know one, fal
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Had this one on my shelves for so long I thought I'd already read it. But, nope. It's the story of a half-provincial half-royal kid from Canada who is raised by a Catholic aunt and learns to draw in the local funeral home, then turns to Renaissance painting in the face of his family's craziness during WWII. Funny and intriguing all the way through. Must read more Robertson Davies.
Jun 26, 2013
Wanda
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
canadian-eh,
read-in-2013
It is always a wonderful experience to re-read What's Bred in the Bone. Although I have not read Davies' entire oevre, I certainly declare this to be his best novel of those I have read, possibly of all of them. It so masterfully brings together all the themes that he has played with in fiction over his writing life (which, according to him, could not begin while his parents were alive).
Francis Cornish, whose life tale this is, is a loveable scoundrel--sometimes more loveable, sometimes more sc ...more
Francis Cornish, whose life tale this is, is a loveable scoundrel--sometimes more loveable, sometimes more sc ...more
October, 2018:
Robertson Davies has the uncanny ability to convince you that not only does he understand the deepest mysteries of human existence, but that you might understand them a little bit too. I came back to this book particularly because I wanted to regain a little bit of that feeling in relation to art, particularly Renaissance painting. The novel works on a practical level, describing techniques and motifs, but also a spiritual level, delving into the ways that religion can have meaning ...more
Robertson Davies has the uncanny ability to convince you that not only does he understand the deepest mysteries of human existence, but that you might understand them a little bit too. I came back to this book particularly because I wanted to regain a little bit of that feeling in relation to art, particularly Renaissance painting. The novel works on a practical level, describing techniques and motifs, but also a spiritual level, delving into the ways that religion can have meaning ...more
L'érudit auteur canadien Robertson Davies nous raconte la vie imprévisible de Francis Cornish. Un canadien né dans un petit village perdu à 100 km d'Ottawa qui, après plusieurs rebondissements, va parfaire ses études à Oxford. Le déménagement en Angleterre, avant la deuxième guerre mondiale, de ce passionné pour les arts visuels l'amènera lentement au cours de sa vie dans une série de situations et de contextes que le lecteur ne pouvait prévoir. Sans en dire plus, pour ne pas diminuer l'intérêt
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Oct 12, 2011
Lobstergirl
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Lobstergirl by:
Prayut Chan-o-cha
The other Robertson Davies I tried to read was The Cunning Man and I had to abort. It just wasn't serving my needs. This one was better. In fact, at the end of the book I liked it better, much better, than at the beginning. The novel began to get interesting for me at about the three-quarters mark. Up to that point there was too much quirk, and meandering, for my taste. Quirky books should bear a sticker, like the Oprah book club sticker but for quirk, so I know to stay away from them.
At the end ...more
Many of the same concerns as The Recognitions, but with a distinctly Canadian flavour. What is “genuine”? What is “forged”?
A perfectly nice and entertaining literary work, but definitely not Canadian the way I understand it. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he is British, and very much imperial British. He represents everything one associates with colonial times in Canada: white, male, comfortably well-off, elitist, and monarchist. His writing is very accessible, definitely not post-modern, much more in the "by-gone" 19th century style. He draws exclusively on European tradition and good solid knowledge of
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I read this ages ago, before goodreads. I don't remember much, but I loved it at the time. Imaginative, unusual, weird.
I first read What's Bred In the Bone 25 or so years ago and the only things that I remembered from it were: Francis Cornish sketching at the autopsy of the dwarf tailor; the Drollig Hansel; and the huge triptych of The Marriage at Cana. I only remembered the art: and while this book is certainly about art, it is more about those lucky few who are able to access the deep well of common experience -- the Collective Unconscious -- and drag forth images to interpret and present as their own; it's ab
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May 23, 2014
Paul
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction-literature,
reviewed-by-me
A reminder of the pleasures (and limitations) of Davies at his best. A light novel of ideas, with perhaps somewhat schematic characters, an un-convoluted and engaging plot, and a generous helping of authorial aperçus that do not attempt to hide their provenance (i.e., they aren't clanging and unconvincing ventriloquisms from the mouths of characters).
I say "light novel of ideas" rather than "novel of light ideas" because the themes at the heart of the book (belief and the construction of the se ...more
I say "light novel of ideas" rather than "novel of light ideas" because the themes at the heart of the book (belief and the construction of the se ...more
This was the first Davies book I ever read, during the Canadian Studies student phase of my life when all books were acquired by picking at random from the CanLit shelf at the used bookstore. I've since gone back and read the whole Cornish trilogy, and much as I love the rest of it I really never felt it was necessary for my development as a person to have read more than this book. Possibly because it's so structurally different from the other two, Bred in the Bone sticks out. Its focus holds to
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Bred in the Bone is the only book I have read by Robertson Davies, but it is not for the of lack of talent on the author's part. Davies has clear control of the plot, characters, and the English language and forms a story that is creative and believable, though not something we can relate to. (at least in this case) I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books by John Irving. There are many similarities between the two authors, especially in the way the plot follows one character for much of
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I have to say, the thought of Canadian governmental machinations, British secret service, and Italian art restoration did not excite me at all. And, though a slow starting book, I found myself wanting to read more and more of this one...The story ended up being fascinating, character development was adequate to the point of care, and overall, a very enjoyable read.
Very strange and wonderful. If you're interested at all in the world or art, hermeticism, history and philosophy, this is for you. One of my favorite writers :)
One of the best books I have ever read. Kaboom!
La primera de las novelas que componen la trilogía de Cornish, Ángeles Rebeldes, dejó el listón de la excelencia literaria a una altura considerable. La lectura de Lo que arraiga en el hueso, arranca con tal expectativa que inevitablemente conduce a una cierta decepción, sobre todo si funcionan los mecanismos de la comparación.
El planteamiento resulta atractivo: la historia de Francis Cornish contada por sus dos Ángeles o Daimones particulares, Zadkiel y Maimas, encargados de guiar sus pasos des ...more
El planteamiento resulta atractivo: la historia de Francis Cornish contada por sus dos Ángeles o Daimones particulares, Zadkiel y Maimas, encargados de guiar sus pasos des ...more
I avoided Robertson Davies for many years, and the only reason I read this one was that a friend asked me to read it aloud to him. I'm glad I did.
While the writing style felt old fashioned to me, Davies' wit and charm, especially when he's being satiric, is extremely engaging. Sometimes we laughed out loud; sometimes we discussed the issues raised in the novel. If the satire had continued at the same rate through the entire novel, I would have given this five stars instead of four, but the novel ...more
While the writing style felt old fashioned to me, Davies' wit and charm, especially when he's being satiric, is extremely engaging. Sometimes we laughed out loud; sometimes we discussed the issues raised in the novel. If the satire had continued at the same rate through the entire novel, I would have given this five stars instead of four, but the novel ...more
I fell in love with Robertson Davies while in high school. The vivid strangeness of the worlds he creates, clothed in a style so sedate that it can be difficult to notice, captivated me entirely, especially in The Deptford Trilogy. I returned to What's Bred In The Bone after stumbling upon a tattered copy in a used bookstore, and, while I was still transported, I got to look at it a little more clearly. He definitely tells instead of showing at times, and may lay things out a little too clearly
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Although this novel has the elements and characters of any great novel including a European dimension, it is quintessentially Canadian (and in my view, only a "what's bred and bone" Canadian might realize the truth of the statement above.)
We're not talking Hockey Night in Canada here.
This is the story of Francis Cornish who emerges from a once small-town family, which has become wealthy on the exploitation of Canada's resources (human and natural) and which later, in the process, enables the fam ...more
We're not talking Hockey Night in Canada here.
This is the story of Francis Cornish who emerges from a once small-town family, which has become wealthy on the exploitation of Canada's resources (human and natural) and which later, in the process, enables the fam ...more
This is the second book in the Cornish trilogy. It basically tells the life story of Francis Cornish, with side discussions by his daimon and an angel analyzing how his life is progressing. The reason for this story is that Simon Darcourt is one of a trio, including Arthur Cornish (Francis' nephew) and Maria, Arthur's wife, are tasked with managing Francis' Trust. Darcourt is having difficulties writing Francis' biography, feels there are potential scandals in his life and finds too many secrets
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La primera novela de la Trilogía de Cornish, 'Ángeles rebeldes', giraba en torno a la figura de Francis Cornish, millonario y benefactor de artistas, o más bien a su legado y todas las batallas por hacerse con él. 'Lo que arraiga en el hueso', segunda novela de dicha trilogía, trata justamente de la vida y milagros de tan enigmático personaje, desde su gestación hasta su muerte, pasando por su infancia, muy significativa para él y parte importante dentro del libro (de ahí el título, ya que "Lo q
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Gran novela de Davies, con su estilo lleno de humor y profundidad filosófica, nos introduce en el mundo de la restauración de cuadros, en la lucha encubierta dentro de la Segunda Guerra Mundial por el prestigio cultural al sevicio de la propaganda política, en la duplicidad moral y miserias intelectuales de los expertos de pintura, etc. Todo un mundo soterrado dentro de la gran cultura occidental, como nos tiene acostumbrados el autor en otras novelas, a la vez que ilustra al lector sobre la ten
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Reading Chal...: What's Bred in the Bone | 1 | 15 | Apr 16, 2015 03:55PM | |
| Goodreads Librari...: Missing book cover | 2 | 10 | Aug 25, 2014 09:29AM |
William Robertson Davies, CC, FRSC, FRSL (died in Orangeville, Ontario) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best-known and most popular authors, and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies is sometimes said to have detested. Davies was the founding Master of Massey College, a graduate college at the University of Toro
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Other books in the series
The Cornish Trilogy
(3 books)
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“The little boy nodded at the peony and the peony seemed to nod back. The little boy was neat, clean and pretty. The peony was unchaste, dishevelled as peonies must be, and at the height of its beauty.(...) Every hour is filled with such moments, big with significance for someone.”
—
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“Wake up! Be yourself, not a bad copy of something else!”
—
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