The Lost Book of the Grail

by Charlie Lovett

Overview

Set in an English cathedral city, The Lost Book of the Grail tells the story of obsessive bibliophile and Holy Grail fanatic Arthur Prescott as he works to uncover a long-lost secret about the cathedral’s past—and its connections to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Arthur Prescott is happiest when surrounded by the ancient books and manuscripts of the Barchester Cathedral library.  Increasingly, he feels like a fish out of water among the concrete buildings of the University of Barchester, where he works as an English professor.  His one respite from the never-ending committees is his time spent nestled in the library, nurturing his secret obsession with the Holy Grail and researching his perennially unfinished guidebook to the medieval cathedral. But when a beautiful young American named Bethany Davis arrives in Barchester charged with the task of digitizing the library’s manuscripts, Arthur’s tranquility is broken. Appalled by the threat modern technology poses to the library he loves, he sets out to thwart Bethany, only to find in her a kindred spirit with a similar love for knowledge and books—and a fellow Grail fanatic. Bethany soon joins Arthur in a quest to find the lost Book of Ewolda, the ancient manuscript telling the story of the cathedral’s founder that was last seen being carried away by a mysterious figure during one of Barchester Cathedral’s most dangerous nights.

As Arthur and Bethany peel back layers of history, we are privy to important moments in the history of the Book of Ewolda—from the earliest days of English saints to the Norman invasion, the Reformation, the English Civil War, and on to the Victorian era and the blitz. And when the future of the cathedral itself is threatened, Arthur and Bethany’s search takes on grave importance, leading the pair to discover secrets about the cathedral, about the Grail, and about themselves that neither expected.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399562518
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/28/2017
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Charlie Lovett is a former antiquarian bookseller, an avid book collector, and a member of The Grolier Club, the oldest and largest club for bibliophiles in North America. He is the author of The Bookman’s Tale, First Impressions, and The Further Adventures of Ebenezer Scrooge. In 2015, Lovett curated Alice Live!, a major exhibition of Lewis Carroll and Alice memorabilia at the New York Public Library for Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, as well as wrote a new introduction for Penguin Classics’ 150th anniversary edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. He and his wife split their time between Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Kingham, Oxfordshire, in England.

Read an Excerpt

King Arthur’s Knights had been the first book Arthur had read late at night under the covers with a torch, long after he was supposed to have been asleep. It was the first book that took him completely out of himself, of his room, of his home and his hometown to a place that seemed both mythical and real, a place where magic was ordinary and heroes were plenteous. It was, he supposed, thinking back on it, the first book that showed him what reading was really all about.
At first Arthur had been drawn to the adventure in the stories—knights battling other knights, the king holding tournaments at Camelot. Then in his teenage years, the love stories began to be favorites—the great Sir Lancelot’s tragic love for Queen Guinevere, Tristram and Isoude drinking a love potion even while he was supposed to be wooing her on behalf of another. But the Grail stories had been a constant source of fascination. In the version of Malory Arthur read as a boy, the story of the Grail was wonderfully vague, never explicitly stating what the Grail was or why Arthur and his knights were so determined to find it. It was unclear who possessed the Grail or why or what they did with it or even whether it was real or just a vision. Arthur had grown to love the mysterious nature of the Grail, but as a child it had fascinated and frustrated him in equal parts.

“What is the Grail?” Arthur had asked his grandfather the night after his first visit to the cathedral library as his grandfather read to him from an abridged version of Malory.

The popular legend of the Grail, his grandfather told him, was simple—the cup from which Christ served the wine at the Last Supper was taken by Joseph of Arimathea to the island of Britain. Arriving near what is now Glastonbury, Joseph pushed his staff into the ground and it flowered into a bush known as the Glastonbury Thorn. Joseph later buried the Grail under a nearby hill—the Glastonbury Tor—and a torrent of clean, fresh water sprang forth and flows from the spot to this very day. Centuries later, knights of King Arthur’s Round Table sought the Grail—a symbol of purity and perfection. In some versions of the tale, the Glastonbury Tor is also the Isle of Avalon, Arthur’s mysterious final resting place. In the late twelfth century, monks of Glastonbury claimed to have found the graves of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, but no one ever found the Grail. Arthur might have thought the story of the Grail no more than a mysterious legend of a magical cup with healing powers— as fascinating, and as fictional, as Tolkien’s One Ring. But the first time his grandfather read him the Grail story from Malory, he laid the book aside and looked Arthur in the eyes.

“King Arthur, and Merlin, and Lancelot, and all the rest—in all likelihood they are only stories. But the Grail, Arthur—the Grail was real. The Grail is real. And I’m going to tell you a secret—a secret you must promise to share with no one.”

“I promise,” said Arthur breathlessly.

“I believe that the Grail is right here in Barchester.”

Arthur loved no one in the world more than his grandfather, and that kindly man rarely spoke as seriously as he did now.

“I’m getting too old for adventures,” said his grandfather, “but you have your whole life ahead of you. You must be the one to find the Grail. And you must keep it secret.”

“But why does it have to be a secret?” said Arthur.

“Do you trust me?” said his grandfather.

“Yes,” said the boy.

“Then you must believe. Someday you will understand. You will understand what the Grail is and where it is and why it must be kept a secret, but for now all you have to do is believe in it. Do you, Arthur? Do you believe in the Grail?”

And Arthur’s response had been absolutely instinctual. Staring into the deep blue of his grandfather’s eyes he had spoken without the slightest shadow of doubt.

“I do.”

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/02/2017
Diffident Arthur Prescott, the endearing hero of this thoroughly enjoyable novel from bestseller Lovett (The Bookman’s Tale), has chosen to teach at the University of Barchester, a backwater institution, because he grew up in Barchester (yes, Anthony Trollope’s cathedral city, as Lovett admits in an author’s note). A junior lecturer who’s fond of P.G. Wodehouse, Arthur finds his values at odds with those of many of his colleagues, who prefer teaching seminars on J.K. Rowling rather than Shakespeare. His life is upended by the arrival of an attractive American, Bethany Davis, who has the job of digitizing the local cathedral’s ancient manuscripts, and whom he fears threatens his own private quest for the location of the Holy Grail. Bethany gradually brings Arthur out of his emotional shell, and the two become research partners. The light tone (at one point, Arthur, Bethany, and some allies are described as having read enough classic mysteries “that they had no trouble concocting an unnecessarily complicated plan” for a well-intentioned theft) blends well with the clever academic sleuthing. Agent: Anna Worrall, Gernert Co. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for First Impressions
 
“A delightful novel.” —People 
 
“[First Impressions] is, at its heart, a love letter to fiction—not just for its writers, but also for its readers.” —The Washington Post
 
“A one hundred percent thumping good read and a loving homage to one of literature’s most beloved authors.” —BookPage

 
Praise for The Bookman’s Tale
 
“Lovett tells his story with ease, charm and a faith in his characters that eventually draws them into our sympathies.” —USA Today
 
“An immensely satisfying and pleasurable read.” —Seattle Post-Intelligencer

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2017
Lovett's (Bookman's Tale; First Impressions) latest novel is an incredible journey of historical secrets and preservation, as well as the very personal voyage of one Arthur Prescott. A lonely literature professor at the University of Barchester (a nice literary salute to Anthony Trollope), Prescott grew up on the stories of King Arthur and the Holy Grail thanks to his grandfather. He still searches for clues to the location of the grail, which he believes has ties to the English cathedral city. When Bethany Davis, an American digital preservationist, arrives to scan "his" manuscripts, the private, highly regimented Arthur finds himself sharing secrets, cracking codes, and opening himself up to the wider world. Interspersed with his quest are vignettes highlighting Barchester's history from 560 CE through World War II and guest appearances by such figures as Sir Thomas Malory and Alfred Lord Tennyson. With the bright, chatty Bethany at his side, the curmudgeonly Arthur transforms himself into an accomplished literary detective. Lovett's passion for the written word and historical preservation is showcased beautifully throughout this engrossing read. VERDICT Highly recommended for bibliophiles, historical fiction fans, and all who enjoy a solid literary mystery. [See Prepub Alert, 8/26/16.]—Katie Lawrence, Grand Rapids, MI

Library Journal

2016-12-07
He's a book-loving Brit who's skeptical about modernity; she's a tech-savvy Yank who talks too much. Is it possible this unlikely pair of "Grail buddies" could forge a meeting of minds—and even hearts—while tracking down one of the world's most revered treasures? In his latest literary mystery, Lovett (The Further Adventures of Ebenezer Scrooge, 2015, etc.) supplements his trademark meld of books, romance, and adventure with an element of (fairly English) humor and some nods in the direction of P.G. Wodehouse. Set in the fantasy English town of Barchester, a place invented by Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope but used by other writers since, it introduces 40-year-old fuddy-duddy academic Arthur Prescott, who lives a bachelor's life of literature, conversation, and love for Barchester Cathedral. But Arthur's orderly existence is about to be upended by the arrival of 26-year-old American Bethany Davis, who's been given the job of digitizing the ancient manuscripts in the cathedral's library. Arthur and Bethany share a fascination with the legendary, lost magical cup of the Holy Grail, which Arthur's grandfather told him, in secret, was hidden somewhere at Barchester. Arthur has also long sought the missing Book of Ewolda, a life of the sixth-century founder of the monastery that became the cathedral. More of a romp than Lovett's preceding novels, this tale interleaves its sometimes-comic 21st-century sleuthing with episodes from Barchester's—and England's—history that give clues to St. Ewolda and the Grail while charting the dogged evolution of Christian faith over some two millennia. There's lots of research too, on everything from code-cracking to the creation of vellum, but it's underpinned by a pleasing treasure hunt mixed with the romantic involvement of two genially mismatched figures. A solidly built, innocently bookish diversion with a distinct Masterpiece Theater flavor.

Kirkus Reviews