''Leaven of Malice'', published in

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

, is the second novel in '' The Salterton Trilogy'' by Canadian novelist

Robertson Davies William Robertson Davies (28 August 1913 – 2 December 1995) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished " men of letters" ...

. The other two novels are ''

Tempest-Tost ''Tempest-Tost'', published in 1951 by Clarke Irwin, is the first novel in '' The Salterton Trilogy'' by Canadian novelist Robertson Davies. The other two novels are ''Leaven of Malice'' (1954) and '' A Mixture of Frailties'' (1958). The series ...

'' (

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

) and '' A Mixture of Frailties'' (

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

). The series was also published in one volume as ''The Salterton Trilogy'' in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. The trilogy revolves around the residents of the imaginary town of Salterton,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Davies won the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

for ''Leaven of Malice''.

Plot summary

The book starts out with a false, anonymous engagement notice between Pearl Veronica Vambrace and Solomon (Solly) Bridgetower published in the local newspaper, the ''Bellman''. The wedding is to be held on November 31 at the local cathedral. The notice creates a stir in the community. Professor Vambrace, the father of Pearl, is outraged, considering it an insult directed at himself and his family, due to his longtime feud with the Bridgetower family. He threatens the ''Bellman's'' editor, Gloster Ridley, to sue the ''Bellman'' for libel. Mrs. Bridgetower is also outraged, although she confines this to her personal circle. Matters are not helped by the fact that Solly, while having once invited Pearl to a ball, is still besotted with Griselda Webster, a local beauty and heiress, who is definitely not interested in him (cf. ''

''). Vambrace consults a lawyer, a relative of his wife, who suggests that he not go through with the case, and that the newspaper is as much a victim of the hoax as he is. The lawyer's partner, Snelgrove, however, says otherwise, and offers to take the case himself. The case is looked into by both Snelgrove and Ridley's lawyer. Along with several major and minor characters in the novel, they pursue a quest for the person responsible for entering the false wedding notice, who is dubbed 'X'. The climactic scene takes place at the ''Bellman'', where the principal characters gather and the identity of X is revealed. After all the chaos, Solly proposes to Pearl, who accepts. The ''Bellmans editor, however, insists they deliver their engagement announcement to the paper in person. The novel explores themes of innocence, guilt, and judgement.

Footnotes

External links

*
The Date Was Nov. 31
Review by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', July 10, 1955. Retrieved September 9, 2007. Novels by Robertson Davies 1954 Canadian novels Novels set in Ontario Clarke, Irwin & Company books {{Canada-novel-stub