From one of the most learned, amusing...accomplished novelists of our time and century (The New York Times Book Review) comes this posthumous gift pulsing with wit, wisdom, learning, and magic Readers around the world continue to mourn the 1995 death of a beloved literary icon, but this rich and varied collection of Robertson Davies"s 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 Coming almost entirely from Davies" own files of unpublished material, these twenty-four essays and lectures range over themes from The Novelist and Magic to Literature and Technology , from Painting, Fiction, and Faking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 Dealer) -- vintage delights from an exquisite literary menu. Davies himself says merely: Lucky writers...like wine, die rich in fruitiness and delicious aftertaste, so that their works survive them . A splendid gallimaufry of the eminent Canadian"s talks and essays . -- The Washington Post Book World A rare, unvarnished look into one of the century"s greatest literary minds as it ranges freely through topics great and small.... Every subject he treats turns to magic . -- The San Diego Union-Tribune