What's Bred in the Bone

What's Bred in the Bone Summary | Plot Summary

What's Bred in the Bone is the story of Francis Chegwidden Cornish. When the story begins, Francis has already died, and a friend wants to write a biography of his life. There is some concern by relatives that such a biography might reveal Francis as an art forger, and so they are hesitant to allow him to write it. The friend writing the biography has some concerns of his own, desiring only to write the truth and yet not convinced that he has all of it. The story becomes unique when the Angel of Biography and the Daimon Maimas enter the plot. They decide to review Francis' life, rather like watching a video of it. The Angel of Biography has done his job and recorded Francis' life. The Daimon Maimas has been given the job of making Francis into a great man. The rest of the story is the record of the life of Francis Cornish.

Francis is born to a wealthy, influential family in a small town in Ontario, Canada. He grows up mostly in the home of his grandparents, cared for by a great-aunt. His parents are rarely home. Although his father desires him to be brought up protestant, Francis is given an upbringing in both the Catholic and protestant faiths. Francis discovers early a love of drawing and art and carries a pencil and notebook with him wherever he goes, drawing whatever he can.

As a young teen, Francis discovers that he has an older brother who was concealed from everyone, hidden away in the attic of the home because of his disabilities. Francis is sent to school in Toronto, and since his parents are away much of the time, he boards there. While at school, Francis discovers the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and that discovery clarifies the style of art he will attempt to master for the rest of his life.

Francis spends a further four years in Toronto attending college. Here he begins writing letters to Uncle Jack, a man his father knows in "the profession." Although Francis understands little of what "the profession" is and the purpose of the letters he writes, he accepts his task. By the end of college, Uncle Jack has retained a large file of letters from Francis.

After college, Francis goes to England to attend Oxford. Before he leaves, he returns to Blairlogie for one last visit. While there, he learns of the death of his brother. He also visits Zadok in the hospital, where he hears a story, although he does not yet understand its significance. However, through the observations and interpretations of the Lesser Zadkiel and the Daimon Maimas, which appear sprinkled throughout the story, the reader realizes that Zadok is actually the father of Francis' older brother.

Francis attends Oxford, where he meets Tancred Saraceni. After finishing school, Francis becomes Saraceni's apprentice and moves to a castle in Bavaria to begin his apprenticeship. He learns how to make the kind of paint that the Old Masters would have painted with and helps to restore pictures. While there, he takes on a new assignment from Uncle Jack, continuing his murky role in "the profession."

During Francis' apprenticeship, he paints his masterpiece, "The Marriage at Cana," which he is never able to claim as his own without the label of forger being thrust upon him. This painting ends his apprenticeship, and with World War II looming, Francis goes back to England. Francis continues his work for the profession, which he now knows is MI5, and he is eventually given the role of ensuring that lost artwork is returned to rightful owners. Late in life, Francis returns to Canada, where he becomes a patron of the arts. He uses the money he inherited from Saraceni to acquire works of art in order to elevate the arts in Canada. When Francis dies, he leaves a sizeable sum to the Gallery of Canada.