What's Bred in the Bone
Encyclopedia
What's Bred in the Bone is the second novel in the Canadian
writer Robertson Davies
' Cornish Trilogy
. It is the life story of Francis or Frank Cornish, whose death and will
were the starting point for the first novel, The Rebel Angels
.
After a brief framing scene among characters from The Rebel Angels, the novel turns to a conversation between the Recording Angel
and the daimon
in charge of Cornish's life. The main part of the book is that life as narrated by the Recording Angel, interspersed with comments in which the daimon explains how he worked to make Cornish a great man.
We follow Cornish's life from his two Canadian grandparents — part of "what's bred in the bone" — through his childhood as a wealthy and precocious misfit in a small Ontario
town, his education in Toronto
and Oxford
, his unusual apprenticeship as a restorer and painter in Nazi Germany
, his wartime experiences in England
, his postwar work with a group resembling the Monuments Men, and his collecting
and patronage of the arts in Toronto. A repeated theme in his mature years is art forgery
.
Cornish's daimon believes that people develop through adversity and provides Cornish with plenty, most obviously at the hands of his childhood classmates and his artistic master in Germany, but also in two love affairs and in a friendship with a young man who in some ways is Cornish's apprentice. Another form of adversity is Cornish's situation as a talented artist whose interests and skills are out of fashion.
First published by Macmillan of Canada
in 1985
, What's Bred in the Bone was on the short list for the 1986 Booker Prize
.
What's Bred in the Bone is the second novel of the Cornish Trilogy. It was followed by The Lyre of Orpheus
. It is also connected to earlier novels; when Cornish is at school in Toronto, one of his teachers is Dunstan Ramsay from the Deptford Trilogy.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
writer Robertson Davies
Robertson Davies
William Robertson Davies, CC, OOnt, FRSC, FRSL was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best-known and most popular authors, and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies is variously said to have gladly accepted for himself...
' Cornish Trilogy
The Cornish Trilogy
The Cornish Trilogy is three related novels by Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor Robertson Davies.The trilogy consists of The Rebel Angels , What's Bred in the Bone , and The Lyre of Orpheus . The series explores the life and influence of Francis Cornish...
. It is the life story of Francis or Frank Cornish, whose death and will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
were the starting point for the first novel, The Rebel Angels
The Rebel Angels
The Rebel Angels is Canadian author Robertson Davies's most noted novel, after those that form his Deptford Trilogy.First published by Macmillan of Canada in 1981, The Rebel Angels is the first of the three connected novels of Davies' Cornish Trilogy...
.
After a brief framing scene among characters from The Rebel Angels, the novel turns to a conversation between the Recording Angel
Recording angel
The Recording angel is, in Judaic, Christian and Islamic angelology, one or more angels assigned by God with the task of recording the events, actions, and/or prayers of each individual human...
and the daimon
Daemon (mythology)
The words dæmon and daimôn are Latinized spellings of the Greek "δαίμων", a reference to the daemons of Ancient Greek religion and mythology, as well as later Hellenistic religion and philosophy...
in charge of Cornish's life. The main part of the book is that life as narrated by the Recording Angel, interspersed with comments in which the daimon explains how he worked to make Cornish a great man.
We follow Cornish's life from his two Canadian grandparents — part of "what's bred in the bone" — through his childhood as a wealthy and precocious misfit in a small Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
town, his education in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, his unusual apprenticeship as a restorer and painter in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, his wartime experiences in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, his postwar work with a group resembling the Monuments Men, and his collecting
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
and patronage of the arts in Toronto. A repeated theme in his mature years is art forgery
Art forgery
Art forgery is the creation of works of art which are falsely attributed to other, usually more famous, artists. Art forgery can be extremely lucrative, but modern dating and analysis techniques have made the identification of forged artwork much simpler....
.
Cornish's daimon believes that people develop through adversity and provides Cornish with plenty, most obviously at the hands of his childhood classmates and his artistic master in Germany, but also in two love affairs and in a friendship with a young man who in some ways is Cornish's apprentice. Another form of adversity is Cornish's situation as a talented artist whose interests and skills are out of fashion.
First published by Macmillan of Canada
Macmillan of Canada
Macmillan of Canada was a Canadian publishing house.The company was founded in 1905 as the Canadian arm of the English publisher Macmillan. At that time it was known as the "Macmillan Company of Canada Ltd." In the course of its existence the name changed to "Macmillan of Canada" and "Macmillan...
in 1985
1985 in literature
The year 1985 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Isaac Asimov - Robots and Empire*Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale*Jean M. Auel - The Mammoth Hunters*Iain Banks - Walking on Glass...
, What's Bred in the Bone was on the short list for the 1986 Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
.
What's Bred in the Bone is the second novel of the Cornish Trilogy. It was followed by The Lyre of Orpheus
The Lyre of Orpheus (novel)
The Lyre of Orpheus, first published by Macmillan of Canada in 1988, is the last of the three connected novels of the Cornish Trilogy by Canadian novelist Robertson Davies...
. It is also connected to earlier novels; when Cornish is at school in Toronto, one of his teachers is Dunstan Ramsay from the Deptford Trilogy.