Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
The Lyre of Orpheus
novel by Davies
The Lyre of Orpheus, novel by Robertson Davies, published in 1988. The book is the third in the so-called Cornish trilogy, which also includes The Rebel Angels (1981) and What’s Bred in the Bone (1985). This fable about the nature of artistic creation has two major plot lines. One thread concerns the production of an unfinished opera said to have been written by the German writer, composer, and painter E.T.A. Hoffmann. The other concerns the discovery that famous art collector Francis Cornish passed off one of his own paintings as a 16th-century masterpiece.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.
Discover how ordinary objects work, and expand your understanding of the familiar.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
By clicking "Sign Up", you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.