Happy alchemy

"Robertson Davies brought a great sense of style to everything he wrote. Whether it was a letter to his daughter ("Love from us both, Daddy") or a formal letter to the editor disemboweling a hostile review that concludes humbly ("I am content to remain, Yours, writhing in deserved ignominy ..."), he wrote with care, with zest, and in a clearly distinctive voice." "Since these letters written by Davies have been selected from the years when he was at the height of his fame, the recipients range widely, from Sir John Gielgud to Margaret Atwood to his publishers around the world. Naturally, like…