A goodhearted priest and scholar, a professor with a passion for the darker side of medieval psychology, a defrocked monk, and a rich young businessman who inherits some troublesome paintings are all helplessly beguiled by the same coed. The story is set in motion by the death of art collector Francis Cornish, and Robertson Davies weaves together the destinies of this remarkable cast of characters in smooth, lyrical prose, creating a wise and witty

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When Decimus Fortesque, the millionaire collector of wives and manuscripts, hires Archy McNally to locte the Holy Grail of missing tomes, the complete text of Truman Capote's Answered Prayers, Archy uncovers nothing but scandal. Luscious Claudia Lester claims to have had the manuscript but declares that her lover, Matthew Harrigan, ran off with it; a lover scorned, Harrigan says Claudia is lying. And Rodney Whitehead, a shady antiques dealer, maintains...