The Grail Legend in Modern Literature. By John B. Marino. Arthurian Studies, LIX. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2004. Pp. vii + 175. $75.

John B. Marino opens The Grail Legend in Modern Literature with an acknowledgement to "Jesus Christ, who rescued me from hell and graduate studies" (p. vii). This raises expectations of humor as well as of a Christian approach and possibly even bias in an area where Christian and non-Christian approaches are already in contention. Disappointingly, Marino's book does not bear out the expectation of humor. Does it bear out the expectation of bias? The answer is a resounding somewhat.

Felicia Nimue Ackerman
Brown University