Robertson Davies

RD and Brenda were in Scandinavia in September 1986 when they heard that his name was on the shortlist for the Nobel Prize in Literature. And not for the first time; they were also informed that Anthony Burgess, among others, had been lobbying for a Davies Nobel for at least two years. This was followed by more good news. FELICITY BRYAN (London literary agent) I was an agent at Curtis Brown, this would be about twenty years ago. Rob was repped by Curtis Brown. . . . I took the Deptford trilogy with me on a holiday to France. I read it, and I was bowled over. When I came back from France I was spouting over about this tremendous writer. Then I readWhat's Bred in the Bone. I sat down and I wrote a long fan letter to Rob. And thenWhat's Bred in the Bonewas coming out in England . . . I've never worked so hard on getting reviews. We had wonderful reviews for it. And then it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize! I phoned him while he was on tour in Sweden, to tell him about his being shortlisted. We had not yet met at that point. But over the phone he was very funny and very pleased! JOHN SAUMAREZ SMITH At the time, I had two sons at Winchester School, and they told me that the head of the English faculty, a Mr. Wyke, was a great admirer of Robertson Davies. I said to Mr. Wyke, "I gather that you're a fan of Robertson Davies. Would you like me to arrange for Mr. Davies to come down and talk to the boys?" He said, "That would be sensational." The Tuesday before we were to go down, Felicity Bryan rang me up and said, "John, you and I should be very proud: Robertson Davies is on the Booker Prize shortlist." So I rang up Rob and said, "Congratulations! But will it still be all right for Tuesday?" Rob said, "John, I won't let you down. And as you drive us down to Winchester School you can tell me about the Booker." I said [with] the Booker list . . . there was always an agenda that was not always going to produce the best sort of decisions. . . . That day was one of those magical days. Even as Rob and Brenda walked from the college to the cathedral, the cathedral choir was practising. And it was so beautiful it brought tears to their eyes . . . Just before the talk, Rob stood before some of the boys. He took out an envelope and said to one of them, "It will appear quite soon that I have given one or two lectures, but I want you to have some pleasure in this. So I will speak for twenty minutes and then I want you to ask questions. I know from experience that this often means there is a horrible pause. But this time there won't be because here are six questions, and I am very good at answering these questions." A brilliant trick! Then he spoke. He was very informal and he made them laugh. Afterwards, the boys asked questions for an hour and a half. And they never asked his six questions. JENNIFER SURRIDGE Being shortlisted for the Booker Prize on top of hearing that he was being considered for a Nobel! . . . But RD was a great worrier and he realized that winning these prizes would have meant a whole lot more time away from his work. . . . He never believed he deserved to win. Too much of a Presbyterian background. His diary shows that he was tortured by hope. RD (diary, September 26, 1986) The Nobel and Booker have stuffed my pillow with thorns . . . no Stoic, I. RD (diary, October 20, 1986) I have a fit of the Black Dog and am downcast all day, wholly irrationally. I feel I have been weighed on the balance and emerged 15 ounces to the pound. The winner of the 1986 Booker was to be announced on October 22, at a gala dinner in London. FELICRoss, Val is the author of 'Robertson Davies', published 2008 under ISBN 9780771077753 and ISBN 0771077750.