High Spirits - Hardcover

Robertson Davies (1913–1995) was born and raised in Ontario, and was educated at a variety of schools, including Upper Canada College, Queen’s University, and Balliol College, Oxford. He had three successive careers: as an actor with the Old Vic Company in England; as publisher of the Peterborough Examiner; and as university professor and first Master of Massey College at the University of Toronto, from which he retired in 1981 with the title of Master Emeritus.

He was one of Canada’s most distinguished men of letters, with several volumes of plays and collections of essays, speeches, and belles lettres to his credit. As a novelist, he gained worldwide fame for his three trilogies: The Salterton Trilogy, The Deptford Trilogy, and The Cornish Trilogy, and for later novels Murther & Walking Spirits and The Cunning Man.

His career was marked by many honours: He was the first Canadian to be made an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he was a Companion of the Order of Canada, and he received honorary degrees from twenty-six American, Canadian, and British universities.

Offering ghost stories meant to amuse, this collection of thirteen selections originated from "gaudy nights" at Massey College where Davies was Master. Davies himself gives a charming introduction while the stories themselves are enhanced by Christopher Plummer's narration. Plummer's rich, resonant voice enlivens each character--college dons, college ghosts, undergraduates. With subtle accents and a superb use of cadence, Plummer reflects all of Davies's humor and irreverence. This excellent match of reader to material will delight Davies's fans and all lovers of good stories told by a skilled narrator. R.F.W. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine