Robertson Davies

Education and a working theatre

Davies grew up in Ontario and studied at Upper Canada College, Queen’s and Balliol College, Oxford. Journalism already interested him as a student.

At London’s Old Vic he worked as an actor, writer and teacher of drama history. Tyrone Guthrie became an important theatrical colleague.

Sources for this section: [1] · [2] · [3] · [4] · [5]

Newspapers and an invented columnist

Back in Canada, he joined the Peterborough Examiner and became its editor and publisher. His Samuel Marchbanks column gave him another public writing persona. He also wrote plays and criticism.

The Salterton novels developed alongside this work. His later fiction included the Deptford and Cornish trilogies, Murther & Walking Spirits and The Cunning Man.

Sources for this section: [1] · [2] · [3] · [4] · [5]

Building a college and sustaining performance

In 1963 he became Massey College’s founding head. The Massey Foundation supported the institution; Ron Thom designed the building. Librarian Douglas Lochhead helped shape its collections.

Davies served on the Stratford festival’s board and documented its early activities with Guthrie.

His contribution to the college’s Christmas entertainments became an annual ghost story. In his introduction to High Spirits he explains why a large party called for amusement rather than his trying to terrify the listeners.

Sources for this section: [1] · [2] · [3] · [4] · [5]

Novels, diaries and later work

The Deptford novels were written during his college years; the Cornish trilogy continued across his retirement. Lectures and public readings remained part of his literary practice.

He kept a diary from 1933 until 1995. His final entry preceded his death that year.

The surviving personal library includes theatre books, prompt copies and annotations, as well as the novels and criticism that informed a broad reading life.

Sources for this section: [1] · [2] · [3] · [4] · [5]