I think the middle book of the Cornish trilogy, [b:What's Bred In The Bone|265767|What's Bred In The Bone|Robertson Davies|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328019283s/265767.jpg|2994820], is probably, objectively, the best of the bunch, and some of the little things that irritate me about Davies--his thematic repetitiveness (ENOUGH KATER MURR); his slips into cultural sermonizing; his handling of queer characters and themes--were too much on display in The Lyre of Orpheus.

On the other hand, I'm such a sucker for fiction about backstage drama, about the theatrical process--especially Canadian/Stratford-related fiction, apparently. [See also: Timothy Findley's [book:Spadework: A Novel|608724] and the television show Slings and Arrows.] Also sort-of-love triangles and (not unrelatedly) Arthuriana. So I was kind of destined to enjoy this book despite its flaws.