Talk:Robertson Davies

Untitled
I don't know a single thing about Robertson Davies, so I'll wait for you to edit it, but this article isn't written from the neutral point of view. Please see that page. --LMS — Preceding unsigned comment added by Larry_Sanger (talk • contribs) 09:15, 2001 July 27 (UTC)


 * Wow, LMS, I just clicked on the Davies link out of curiosity and noticed the same thing! "Robertson Davies was a true Canadian?"  Geez!  I don't know much about him, either, but I'll try to research this and fix the bias! Sara Parks Ricker — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sara Parks Ricker (talk • contribs) 19:12, 2002 August 14 (UTC)
 * Davies was an excellent public speaker, and I think his articles deserves to have a few apt quotations. I will try to find some and add them.


 * Andrew Szanton 4/06 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Andrew Szanton (talk • contribs) 08:18, 2006 April 13 (UTC)

Religious affiliation
I see that Davies is listed in two categories: Canadian Anglicans and Presbyterians. What gives? &mdash; Grstain 11:30, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I now see that the Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto) article states that Davies attended Mass there while still a Presbyterian and a student at Upper Canada College. Perhaps his "conversion" needs to be discussed in the article. &mdash; Grstain 11:45, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I put in both the Presbyterians cat and the ref at St. Mary Mag. He grew up in the Presbyterian Church in Canada but turned to Anglo-Catholicism because it appealed to his flair for theatre. Carolynparrishfan 16:26, 4 May 2006 (UTC)


 * why is the article linked to the religion portal? Hmmm. Spanglej (talk) 23:49, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

My encounter with the Mr. Davies and Mrs. Davies ice cream!
I had the honor of working as a helping hand for Mr. Davies during the summer of my 10th grade, when at the time I had never read or were interested in reading any novels. And even less English novels! Since my first language is French (no I am not French canadian, I am just canadian). I worked that summer being treated to Mrs. Davies great ice cream treat, in return for keeping secret the location of their summer retreat. No big deal, didn't even realize who the old man with the great white beard was.

When I returned to high school the following fall, my english teacher at ODSS (Mrs. Kelly) introduced me to a novel, and I immediately recognized the author name as Mr. Davies. The "Fifth Business" was my first English novel that I have ever read, and I fell in love with his stories. By the time I was 21, I had read everyone of his books. I was always tempted to return and crasefully request an audience. I never did, until my first daughter was born. At that time I convinced myself that I would make the trip to his retreat, and intrude on his privacy. Only to ask for an autograph on the first novel that I had read in English, so that I could pass it on to Chantal when she reaches the right age. That very morning when I made the decision to drive to their secluded spot and become a nosy fan, it was announce on the radio that Mr. Davies passed way. At least I got the ice cream.

fpinczuk@hotmail.com

216.126.131.83 08:12, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Voice of the People
Don't know if this is the right way to comment, but OK.

The play "The Voice of the People" can certainly not be a 1994 play, because I have a book printed in 1968 that contains it. That book (ISBN 0-7720-02223) bears a 1949 copyright date, but it appears that one of the other plays it contains ("Eros at Breakfast") was first produced in 1948 and won a prize that year, so I don't know when "The Voice of the People" was first produced, or whether the 1949 printing was its first public appearance.

Joe Bernstein joe@sfbooks.com

PS your comment and editing setup works very poorly for iCab 2.9.9 (PPC) , in case you care. 216.126.131.83 08:12, 22 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Looks to me that you are correct. The plays were republished in a collection dated 1994 (ISBN 0889242593), which is probably the source of the misinformation. It has been corrected. Grstain | Talk 12:39, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Novel trivia
I feel trivia concerning specific novels should be moved to their respective entries. I'd be interested in hearing opinions from others. Victoriagirl 17:10, 11 September 2006 (UTC)


 * It's a moot point - none of the current trivia is restricted to a single book. There's trivia about Davies, trivia regarding monkeys/apes tails (two books), and trivia that veers near to just one book, but then branches out (brookmyre) Tomandlu 15:01, 13 September 2006 (UTC)


 * My recommendation concerned trivia related to specific works, not Davies himself. When making the suggestion, I suppose I should've incuded my reasoning. First, given Davies' varied interests, I can see the newly established trivia section expanding quite rapidly with observations pertaining to particular novels, trilogies and plays. More important, I think that readers are more likely to turn to the articles on each work for information of this sort. Point taken that one piece of trivia concerns two novels. Why not incorporate the information in each? Whether the trivia remains in this article or not, I would recommend it be included in the novels mentioned - it can only serve to strengthen. Victoriagirl 15:53, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

Military Service/War Time Experiences
It seems unusual that no mention is made of any military service Mr. Davies might have performed. It certainly seems a glaring omission to me.

Mr. Davies was born in 1913. Certainly in the U.S. someone of his age would have incurred military service had he been deemed fit for duty.

War time experiences seem to figure very prominently in at least some of his novels. The Dunstan Ramsey character is completely transformed by his service in WWI. Similarly, Boy Stanton reveals much of his character by finding relatively safe duty during this conflict. One of the films from "Murther and Walking Spirits" centers around WW II, and the obligation men of Davie's generation felt to participate in the war. Finally, the Battle of London plays a critical role in "What's Bread in the Bone".

Does anyone have information about Mr. Davies war time years? I am not trying to cast aspersions with this question, but it does seem relevant to a man of his generation and writing. 12.171.32.226 (talk) 20:43, 26 March 2009 (UTC)pjc


 * He was rejected for military service in WWII because of poor eyesight, as discussed in both the Judith Grant and Val Ross biographies. Masalai (talk) 00:04, 27 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks Masalai! I think the article would be improved with at least a passing mention of this, but I will leave such an edit to better minds than mine... 76.105.219.46 (talk) 02:49, 27 March 2009 (UTC)pjc

Political incorrectness
Some of his earlier writings from many years ago might be considered quite politically incorrect today, such as his Native American character Osceola Thunderbelly and his use of the term "Chinaman". I don't know many who would have faulted him for something written half a century ago, but I suppose it's one of the hazards of living so long. In any case, it's hard to "unwrite" a published novel. Knowing his deep commitment to social responsibility, it must have bothered him a great deal in later years, and caused him some sadness and regret. Landroo 23:51, 13 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Not only his earlier writings. He delighted throughout his career in debunking what he perceived to be politically correct shibboleths; it was he who re-issued the Marchbanks books in the late '80s, with contemporary editorial commentary purportedly by Davies the editor on Marchbanks the author. If he resiled from any of its contents he could easily have omitted them. The Ross biography reports a speech he gave at Hart House from which Pierre Trudeau fled -- quite possibly because some of Davies's utterances were too outrageous for him to want to be seen hearing. One of those footnotes, indeed, makes merry over the then-new AIDS epidemic, which he apparently thought vastly amusing (a thoughtfully assertive editor might have persuaded him to leave this out). Davies's own daughters are amply quoted in the Ross biography as to being entirely aware that in some ways Davies was not a very nice man; this of course need hardly affect one's appreciation of his literary stature. Incidentally, Osceola Thunderbelly wasn't a Native American: he was an aboriginal Canadian, though certain chiefs of Canadian First Nations that I am acquainted with are somewhat wry about political correctness themselves and suggest that they rather prefer to call themselves Canadian Indians even yet.Masalai (talk) 07:27, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

as per some of the comments i am now reading i have read the biogaphy and it seems to have very little information about the man himself. It mentions he married once, but doesn't then say if they had any kids for example, or anything else about his personal life. Is nothing known. I have read all his books - just about - and think they are great, and as a result would like to know a bit more about the man himself. thx, mark t - four tildes (?) - -190.135.48.170 (talk) 07:30, 10 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Lots of such detail in both the Judith Grant and Val Ross biographies. Married Australian Brenda Mathews, a stage manager at the Old Vic, in London in 1940. Three daughters, all born in Canada, none of whom have sought to maintain public lives, though all have agreed to give interviews from time to time about their famous parents. I don't know that it's entirely proper to yield up the details of their personal lives here, though as I say, such details are amply referred to in both Davies biographies. Masalai (talk) 15:50, 10 June 2010 (UTC)


 * I'd say - add in the details, please, from the biographies. The article is very thin and tells us little about who he really was. Spanglej (talk) 21:08, 10 June 2010 (UTC)

beef up the article?
I'm surprised this article is so thin. There is little on his family life and passions or any extra dimension to the man beyond his writing. Perhaps his biggest fans are not wiki types... Or perhaps, as noted above by Masalai, he was not a very nice man and we don't want to go too much into it. Whichever way round, the article is thin. Spanglej (talk) 23:47, 13 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Agreed - this article is way too thin. I for one would like to hear about the details of his death, his funeral, and at the least, where he has been buried. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.119.234.57 (talk • contribs) 12:16, 2009 June 15 (UTC)


 * I can't see how this is important. He died of a stroke in Orangeville hospital, his funeral was conducted in Trinity College Chapel in the University of Toronto with John Irving reading the lesson and his ashes were scattered in the garden of Windhover, his rural property in the Caledon Hills near Orangeville, to the immediate northwest of metro Toronto. Masalai (talk) 05:59, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes. And there is an interesting and important dimension to Mr. Davies's personality, life, and work that has not been touched on (only remotely implied by the bit about Davies telling ghost stories).  Listeners to CBC Radio in Canada have probably often heard (as I have) about Davies's interest in and experience of psychic phenomena, such as seeing spirits.  This (I remember, though not precisely) is treated to a small extent in one of the book-length biographies - don't remember which author, but came across passages at our nearby library.


 * Davies related that as a youth he had heard the expression "keep your eyes peeled," and for some reason he interpreted this in such a way that he deicided to consult a local psychic woman, who assisted him by opening some levels of psychic peception in him. After this he found that he saw a spirit at a funeral that he attended.


 * This no doubt accounts for why he told and wrote "ghost stories." His books such as The Lyre of Orpheus contain characters who are psychic or highly intuitive, as well as references to the afterlife.Joel Russ (talk) 00:20, 11 November 2009 (UTC)


 * What a disgrace that the entry has no photo. As a long-time contributor, I know first-hand how hard it is to get copyright clearance for photos, but at least I try. Is there no one out there who could get one for this entry? Good god almighty! Bwark (talk) 00:34, 3 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Bwark: A single low-res photo would be fine under fair use with the proper tags—see WP:FUR. It's just a matter of someone doing it. Curly Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 01:41, 3 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Curly Turkey: Thanks for your advice. Much appreciated. I usually find a copyright holder who has a photo and get them to send me an e-mail granting a Creative Commons license. In this case, I think I will try my hand at a fair use rationale and see what happens. I don't mind doing the necessary work, but don't want to get into a debate with permissions editors. Thanks again. Bwark (talk) 16:53, 3 April 2016 (UTC)

Pop section
I suggest we cut the "popular" section. It is mostly a list of media inspired by Davies's works. Every famous artist has hundreds of people who are inspired by their work. The list is not comprehensive or notable, in my view. WP:TRIV says "Trivia sections should be avoided." Any objections? Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Anna Roy (talk • contribs) 23:29, 2010 August 26 (UTC)
 * I came to the talk page to try to figure out why this article has no Legacy section. I came across information on his daughter's publication of selections from Davies personal diaries.  I thought coverage of this 2016 book might belong in a legacy section.


 * , if RS wrote about how Davies work influenced the work of later artists, I question whether that should be dismissed as "trivia". I wish you had supplied diffs to your excisions of this material.  I encourage you to supply diffs, in future.  Geo Swan (talk) 20:53, 5 January 2021 (UTC)


 * This was 11 years ago. Triva sections which are "passing mentions" are to be avoided. Sections that list all the people that a famous artist inspired are rarely useful unless they offer something sumbstantive and referenced. RD is a very famous writer, he influenced everybody. Anna (talk) 21:16, 5 January 2021 (UTC)


 * I didn't remove the section myself, but I support the move. You can see in this older version that it is all the usual "passing mentions", of not value. A decent legacy section would be useful, Yes. Anna (talk) 21:23, 5 January 2021 (UTC)

Category:Canadian monarchists
I have added Mr. Davies to this category. This post is to serve as the rationale if anyone comes looking. "My political background was strongly socialist, and Robertson Davies was monarchist. At Weller Street we had terrible arguments. But then he started to call himself a "socialist monarchist...."" Link "In a government like ours, the Crown is the abiding and unshakable element in government; politicians may come and go, but the Crown remains and certain aspects of our system pertain to it which are not dependent on any political party. In this sense, the Crown is the consecrated spirit of Canada." Link Wilson (talk) 15:20, 18 December 2014 (UTC)

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Links in “Essays”
Why is ‘Merry Heart’ linking back to the top of the page? Appears to have its own page, but doesn’t … Susie Brooke (talk) 00:05, 22 February 2022 (UTC)