Professor Donald Cornwallis Treadway Trefusis (1921–2008) is an eccentric fictional character created by Stephen Fry.
| Donald Trefusis | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Loose Ends (radio series) |
| Created by | Stephen Fry |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation | Regius Professor of Philology at the University of Cambridge and Extraordinary Fellow of St. Matthew's College[1] |
| Relatives | Phillip (nephew) |
He initially appeared as an occasional contributor of "wireless essays" to Ned Sherrin's BBC Radio 4 programme Loose Ends in 1986. Trefusis was portrayed as a senior tutor at the fictional St Matthew's College and professor of philology at the University of Cambridge. He is an important character in the novel The Liar.[2] Transcripts of the Loose Ends broadcasts were published as essays in Paperweight.[3]
In addition to a propensity for taking very liberal positions on a range of social issues, as when he states his credentials as "a lover of truth, a worshipper of freedom, a celebrant at the altar of language and purity and tolerance,"[4] the greetings and salutations to his broadcasts almost always consist of a non-sequitur (e.g. "Hugely so to you all [...] And if you have been, then it was").
In 2009 Trefusis returned from the grave in a new audio series The Dongle of Donald Trefusis.[5] He also manifested on Twitter.[6]
Notes edit
- ^ Hollander, Samuel Ricardo – The New View. Routledge, 1995; p. 1
- ^ Thorne, Rhiannon (4 July 2015). "A Carnival for Anglophiles: A Review of The Liar by Stephen Fry". Atticus Review. Atticus Books. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- ^ "Paperweight by Stephen Fry". Telegraph Bookshop. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- ^ Fry, Stephen Paperweight. Mandarin, 1992; p. 59
- ^ "Stephen Fry and IODA Partner for The Dongle of Donald Trefusis". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. 27 May 2009. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- ^ "@donaldtrefusis". Twitter.
External links edit
- The Dongle of Donald Trefusis homepage Archived 27 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
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