The foundation funded by Francis Cornish’s inheritance has decided to pursue one of its first projects: the staging of E.T.A. Hoffman’s unfinished opera, The Court of Arthur. The person in charge of carrying out the task is Hulda Schnakenburg, a brilliant and peculiar graduate student, who will be assisted by Simon Darcourt in writing the libretto. Unfortunately, complications arise in such a way that those involved in the project seem to be acting out the plot of the opera themselves, thus proving Hoffman’s utterance that “the lyre of Orpheus opens the door of the underworld.” Davies’s extraordinary knowledge of theater is clear as he showcases the behind-the-scenes drama of theatrical and musical Productions, while also reflecting upon how oftentimes our basest instincts impose themselves and force us to act in unexpected ways. Although it can be read independently, this novel is the third installment of The Cornish Trilogy.

La fundación constituida con el legado del mecenas Francis Cornish ha decidido acometer uno de sus primeros proyectos: la representación de Arturo de Britania, una ópera inconclusa de E.T.A. Hoffmann. La encargada de realizar la tarea será Hulda Schnakenburg, una brillante y peculiar estudiante de doctorado, que contará con la ayuda de Simon Darcourt en la redacción del libreto. Desgraciadamente los trabajos se complican de tal manera que los involucrados en el proyecto parecen estar representando el argumento de la ópera y hacen buena la cita de Hoffmann que dice «La lira de Orfeo abre las puertas del otro mundo». En esta novela Davies muestra su extraordinario conocimiento de las artes escénicas plasmando los enredos de las producciones teatrales y musicales, a la vez que reflexiona sobre cómo a menudo nuestros más bajos instintos se imponen y nos conducen a actuar insospechadamente. Aunque puede ser leída independientemente, esta novela es el tercer libro de la Trilogía de Cornish.

Robertson Davies, novelist, playwright, literary critic and essayist, was born in 1913 in Thamesville, Ontario. He was educated at Queen's University, Toronto, and Balliol College, Oxford. Whilst at Oxford he became interested in the theatre and from 1938 until 1940 he was a teacher and actor at the Old Vic in London. He subsequently wrote a number of plays. In 1940 he returned to Canada, where he was literary editor of Saturday Night, an arts, politics and current affairs journal, until 1942, when he became editor and later publisher of the Peterborough Examiner. Several of his books, including The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks and The Table Talk of Samuel Marchbanks, had their origins in an editorial column. In 1962 he was appointed Professor of English at the University of Toronto, and in 1963 was appointed the first Master of the University's Massey College. He retired in 1981, but remained Master Emeritus and Professor Emeritus. He held honorary doctorates from twenty-six universities in the UK, the USA and Canada, and he received numerous awards for his work, including the Governor-General's Award for The Manticore in 1973. It is as a writer of fiction that Robertson Davies achieved international recognition, with such books as The Salterton Trilogy (Tempest-Tost, Leaven Of Malice, winner of the Leacock Award for Humour, and A Mixture Of Frailties); The Deptford Trilogy (Fifth Business, The Manticore and World Of Wonders); The Cornish Trilogy (The Rebel Angels, What's Bred in the Bone, shortlisted for the 1986 Booker Prize, and The Lyre of Orpheus); Murther & Walking Spirits; and The Cunning Man. His other work includes One Half of Robertson Davies, The Enthusiasms of Robertson Davies, Robertson Davies: The Well-Tempered Critic, The Papers of Samuel Marchbanks, High Spirits, A Voice From The Attic and The Merry Heart, a posthumous collection of autobiography, lectures and essays. Many of his books are published by Penguin.

Robertson Davies died in December 1995. Malcolm Bradbury described him as 'one of the great modern novelists', and in its obituary The Times wrote: 'Davies encompassed all the great elements of life...His novels combined deep seriousness and psychological inquiry with fantasy and exuberant mirth.'

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"Robertson Davies is one of the great modern novelists."  “Sunday Times

"[T]he greatest comic writer since Dickens."  “John Irving, author, The Cider House Rules

"Do yourself a favor: don't put off the pleasure of reading it."  “El País

"He is one of the most learned, amusing and otherwise accomplished novelists of our time. His novels will be recognized with the very best work of this century."  ?John Kenneth Galbraith, author, The Affluent Society

"Robertson Davies is the sort of novelist readers can hardly wait to tell their friends about."  “Washington Post

"Davies is author to one of the most consistent narrative works of the 20th century."  “La Vanguardia