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Canon Tallis


Canon John Tallis is a major character in the young adult novels of Madeleine L'Engle, appearing in four books. The character is based on L'Engle's real-life spiritual advisor, Canon Edward Nason West of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

An Episcopal Canon, Tallis defies conventional expectations about how priests behave. Somewhat brusque in manner, he is tough-minded and not at all pious - that is, he does not make a show of his faith, but instead takes action in service of what he believes to be right. The character is comparable to G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown, with a bit of Ian Fleming's James Bond thrown in. In his first three appearances especially, Tallis provides both spiritual leadership and insight into the realms of crime and international intrigue.

The character Canon Tallis appears in the following books:

In The Arm of the Starfish (1965), protagonist Adam Eddington first sees Tallis at JFK Airport, accompanied by twelve-year-old Polly O'Keefe. Adam is immediately warned against him by Carolyn "Kali" Cutter. She identifies him as a real priest attached to the diocese of Gibraltar, but also calls him a "phony". Despite the apparent innocence of a priest and a child seen eating ice cream together, and Adam's impression that Tallis resembles an "intelligent teddy bear," Adam is left with a vague distrust, mixed with curiosity. He soon has reason to take Kali's warnings more seriously, as Canon Tallis intervenes in a mysterious, somewhat sinister manner when Adam is detained in customs in Madrid. Apparently English, Tallis nevertheless carries an American Phi Beta Kappa key, and wears a French Légion d'honneur ribbon. Adam eventually learns that Canon Tallis, a trusted friend of the O'Keefe family who gave Polly her unusual name (Polyhymnia), has worked with both the American Embassy and Interpol. A chaplain and prisoner of war during the Korean War, Tallis is said to have helped his men to withstand torture, but the experience caused him to lose all his hair, including his eyebrows.


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