Today is Robertson Davies‘s 109th birthday anniversary. I write about him on his birthday because I thoroughly enjoy his books. Here’s one I think is worthy of consideration.
This year has me thinking of the book Leaven of Malice. It’s one of the Salterton Trilogy books (the middle one), and a bit of an odd book out. It deals with libel, and pulls from Robertson’s many years as a newspaperman. While it doesn’t make perfect sense out of context of the trilogy, it’s good enough on its own to stand by itself as a fascinating snapshot of culture in Ontario at the time. The province has utterly changed from the times of this book (due mostly to expanded immigration), yet is near enough in time to relate to the characters on a modern basis. This is worth checking out.