Book 1

Tempest-tost

by Robertson Davies

Published 31 January 1980
The debut novel that launched an astonishing literary career, Tempest-Tost is a magnificent display of Robertson Davies's legendary wit and the first novel in the Salterton Trilogy.

     An amateur production of The Tempest provides a colourful backdrop for a hilarious look at unrequited love. Mathematics teacher Hector Mackilwraith, stirred and troubled by Shakespeare's plays, falls in love with the beautiful Griselda Webster. When Griselda shows that she has her own plans, Hector despairs and tries to commit suicide on the play's opening night.
     Written in 1951, Tempest-Tost is a wonderfully satirical story of small-town Canada that reveals humorous yet powerful universal truths.