num_pages: 400
description: Readers around the world continue to mourn the 1995 death of a beloved literary icon, but this rich and varied collection of Robertson Davies' writings on the world of books and the miracle of language captures his inimitable voice and sustains his presence among us. Coming almost entirely from Davies' own files of unpublished material, these twenty-four essays and lectures range over themes from "The Novelist and Magic" to "Literature and Technology," from "Painting, Fiction, and Faking," to "Can a Doctor Be a Humanist?" and "Creativity in Old Age."For devotees of Davies and all lovers of literature and language, here is the "urbanity, wit, and high seriousness mixed by a master chef" — Cleveland Plain DealerVintage delights from an exquisite literary menu. Davies himself says "Lucky writers. . . like wine, die rich in fruitiness and delicious aftertaste, so that their works survive them."   • Viking will publish Robertson Davies'  Happy Alchemy in July 1998   • Many fine works by Robertson Davies are available from Penguin including The Deptford Trilogy, The Cornish Trilogy , and The Salterton Trilogy
language: English
title: The Merry Heart: Reflections on Reading Writing & the World of Books
titlecomplete: The Merry Heart: Reflections on Reading Writing & the World of Books
genres: Literature, Books About Books, Criticism, Biography, Memoir, Essays, Writing, Canadian Literature, Canada, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 245
publisher: Penguin Books