World of Wonders (Penguin Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Robertson Davies (Author), Wayne Johnston (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics | Publication Date: February 28, 2006

Hailed by the Washington Post Book World as “a modern classic,” Robertson Davies’s acclaimed Deptford Trilogy is a glittering, fantastical, cunningly contrived series of novels, around which a mysterious death is woven. World of Wonders—the third book in the series after The Manticore—follows the story of Magnus Eisengrim—the most illustrious magician of his age—who is spirited away from his home by a member of a traveling sideshow, the Wanless World of Wonders. After honing his skills and becoming better known, Magnus unfurls his life’s courageous and adventurous tale in this third and final volume of a spectacular, soaring work.

“Robertson Davies is one of the great modern novelists.”
—Malcolm Bradbury, The Sunday Times (London)
“Robertson Davies is a novelist whose books are thick and rich with humor, character and incident. They are plotted with skill and much flamboyance.” —The Observer (London)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Robertson Davies is one of the great modern novelists."
—Malcolm Bradbury, The Sunday Times (London)

"Robertson Davies is a novelist whose books are thick and rich with humor, character and incident. They are plotted with skill and much flamboyance."
—The Observer (London)

About the Author

ROBERTSON DAVIES (1913–1995) was an internationally acclaimed author, actor, publisher, and, finally, professor at the University of Toronto. The author of twelve novels and several volumes of essays and plays, he was the first Canadian to be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Wayne Johnston is the author of several novels, including The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. He lives in Toronto.
Michael Dirda is a Pulitzer Prize–winning reviewer, critic, and essayist. A long-time contributor to the Washington Post Book World, he is also the author of Bound to Please, Readings, and a memoir.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (February 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143039148
• ISBN-13: 978-0143039143
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #452,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magician's Biography Unravels a Mystery, June 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: World of Wonders (Deptford Trilogy) (Paperback)

Davies uses the 'accidental' revelation of a great magician's life--by the magician himself--to complete the Deptford Trilogy and answer the mystery: "Who killed...?" Davies is at his storytelling best here, spinning out a strange, fascinating life story that begins when a young boy is captivated by a carnival magic show. By far the best book of the trilogy, this novel stands brilliantly on its own and is head and shoulders above the two recent novels that use almost the same plot: Mr. Vertigo, by Paul Auster, and Millroy the Magician, by Paul Theroux

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Davies' Deptford Trilogy - A must-read, July 14, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Piscataway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: World of Wonders (Deptford Trilogy) (Paperback)

The only bad thing about Robertson Davies' Deptford Trilogy (FIFTH BUSINESS, THE MANTICORE, WORLD OF WONDERS) is that it had to end! Sparklingly clever, bawdy, poignant, erudite, and laugh-out-loud funny, Davies entertains in a wonderfully rich, old-world style.

A friend of mine (who recommended the books, and to whom I will be forever grateful) put it this way: "Reading Robertson Davies is like sitting in a plush, wood-paneled library--in a large leather chair with a glass of excellent brandy and a crackling fire--and being captivated with a fabulous tale spun by a wonderful raconteur."

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest novel of the twentieth century, December 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: World of Wonders (Deptford Trilogy) (Paperback)

This is the best novel of the century's best English language novelist. The plot is sure-fire (kid runs away with the carnival), the characters memorable (sideshow freaks, revealed to be--human beings! theater people, great and small, revealed to be--human beings!), the sins enormous (pederasty, pride, perhaps even murder), the virtues marvelous (love, devotion to love). The theme of this book, as with the other books in the trilogy, is search for self--the main character of this book lives four different lives during his life. This book works on every level; it reads well as a story, gives you something to think about, and stands up to any number of readings you'd care to give it. (I've given it at least five.)