Salterton Trilogy

Weaving a tapestry of wonderfully developed characters, smoldering rivalries, and witty satire, Robertson Davies introduces the first book in the Salterton Trilogy. An amateur production of The Tempest provides a colorful backdrop for a hilarious look at unrequited love. Mathematics teacher Hector Mackilwraith, stirred and troubled by Shakespeare's play, falls in love with the beautiful heiress Griselda Webster. When Griselda shows she has plans of her own, Hector despairs on the play's opening night.

Returning to the town he first visited in Tempest-Tost, Davies continues to explore the lives of its inhabitants in this winner of the Leacock Medal, awarded for the best in Canadian literary humor. 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.

Louisa Bridgetower, the imposing Salterton matron, has died. The substantial income from her estate is to be used to send an unmarried young woman to Europe to pursue an education in the arts. Mrs. Bridgetower's executors end up selecting Monica Gall, an almost entirely unschooled singer whose sole experience comes from performing with the Heart and Hope Gospel Quartet, a rough outfit sponsored by a small fundamentalist group. Monica soon finds herself in England, a pupil of some of Britain's most remarkable teachers and composers, and she gradually blossoms from a Canadian rube to a cosmopolitan soprano with a unique-and tragicomic-career.

Available in one volume, all three books of the award-winning Salterton Trilogy: Tempest-Tost, Leaven of Malice, and A Mixture of Frailties. Visit the quaint town of Salterton, Ontario, and the enigmatic lives of those who inhabit it... Tempest-Tost. An amateur production of The Tempest provides a colorful backdrop for a hilarious look at unrequited love. Mathematics teacher Hector Mackilwraith, stirred and troubled by Shakespeare's play, falls in love with the beautiful heiress Griselda Webster. When Griselda shows she has plans of her own, Hector despairs on the play's opening night. Leaven of Malice. Winner of the Leacock Medal, awarded for the best in Canadian literary humor. A malicious false engagement notice between locals Solly Bridgetower and Pearl Vambrace leads to permanent changes, for good or ill, in the lives of many citizens of Salterton. A Mixture of Frailties. Louisa Bridgetower, the imposing Salterton matron, has died. The substantial income from her estate is to be used to send an unmarried young woman to Europe to pursue an education in the arts. Monica Gall, an almost entirely unschooled singer soon finds herself in England, as she gradually blossoms from a Canadian rube to a cosmopolitan soprano with a unique-and tragicomic-career.