BIOGRAPHY
William Robertson Davies was a Canadian journalist, playwright, and novelist best known for his series “The Deptford Trilogy”. He was born on August 28, 1913 in Thamesville, Ontario to a fairly privileged family. His father was a politician and publisher and both his parents were avid readers. Davies developed a growing interest in music, theatre and writing throughout his early years and many of these interests are reflected in his writing. He studied at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario as a special student not working towards a degree, and wrote for the student paper, The Queen’s Journal. After 3 years of studies at Queens, Davies left for Oxford and obtained a Bachelors degree in Literature in 1938 and met his wife Brenda Matthews during his attendance at Oxford just 2 years later. The couple returned to Canada the same year and Davies became the literary editor of Saturday Night. Davies’ first love was drama and he went on to write several plays and worked with theaters a great deal in his early career. After a theatrical disaster in New York in 1960, he decided to turn his attention to novels instead. “The Deptford Trilogy”, a series of novels set in semi-rural Ontario, was Davies’ best-known work. He uses satire and other devices to critique many of the flaws he sees in people and the society. Robertson Davies then went on to receive the Stephen Leacock Medal for humour in 1955, the Lorne Pierce Medal in 1961, the Governor-General’s Award in 1972, as well as 23 honorary degrees. He was the first holder of the Massey Chair position at the University of Toronto in 1961. He also co-founded the University of Toronto’s graduate centre for Study of Drama in 1966. Davies died in Orangeville, Ontario in 1995 and his funeral was covered live by CBC.
Sources: http://www.athabascau.ca/writers/rdavies.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertson_Davies
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