{"product_id":"a-mixture-of-frailties-9780795352461","title":"A Mixture of Frailties","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe \"first-rate . . . abundantly funny\" conclusion to the Salterton Trilogy, following \u003ci\u003eLeaven of Malice\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTempest-Tost\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Davies is equally familiar with the world of the Canadian provinces and with that of musical London, and portrays both with rich humor and sympathetic understanding.\"--\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Something of a virtuoso performance, this relies more on its wit than its warmth, but the musicianship is very knowledgeable and the fingerwork light.\"--\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRobertson 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 \u003ci\u003ebelles lettres\u003c\/i\u003e to his credit. As a novelist, he gained worldwide fame for his three trilogies: \u003ci\u003eThe Salterton Trilogy\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Deptford Trilogy\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Cornish Trilogy\u003c\/i\u003e, and for later novels \u003ci\u003eMurther and Walking Spirits\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Cunning Man\u003c\/i\u003e. His career was marked by many honors: 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.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"RosettaBooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50382593458450,"sku":"9780795352461","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_cc0a8ff0-f9d9-4584-81de-d9d9c474016c.jpg?v=1728713042","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-mixture-of-frailties-9780795352461","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}