Returning to the town he first visited in Tempest-Tost, Davies continues to explore the lives of its inhabitants in this winner of the Leacock Medal, awarded for the best in Canadian literary humor.

The following announcement appeared in the Salterton Evening Bellman: "Professor and Mrs. Walter Vambrace are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Pearl Veronica, to Solomon Bridgetower Esq, son of . . ." Although the malice that prompted this false engagement notice was aimed at three people only--Solly Bridgetower, Pearl Vambrace, and Gloster Ridley, the anxiety-ridden local newspaper editor--before the leaven of malice had ceased to work it had changed permanently, for good or ill, the lives of many citizens of Salterton.

Praise for Robertson Davies

"Invention has always been Robertson Davies's strength. He tells terrific stories that twist around and double back on themselves in surprising ways and, characteristically, combines them with intriguing, arcane information."--The New York Times

"Davies' fiction is animated by his scorn for the ironclad systems that claim to explain the whole of life. Messy, magical, high-spirited life bubbles up between the cracks."--South Florida Sun-Sentinel