The Lost Book of the Grail

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

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.

A fast-paced adventure into the world of ancient manuscripts. I enjoyed it immensely. John Grisham

The one book every bibliophile needs to read. . . . mysterious, hilarious, and heartwarming . . . A fun, literary adventure in the spirit of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade or The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Book of the Grail is a wildly entertaining story bibliophiles everywhere will love. Bustle

[The Lost Book of the Grail] blends romance, history, booknerdom, and questions about faith and religion into a literary mystery that s not only incredibly fun but super smart. . . . If your idea of a good time is sifting through the shelves of an old library, this book will speak to your heart. Book Riot s Best Books of 2017

Book lovers will relish author Lovett s attention to loving detail. . . . The Lost Book of the Grail is . . . ever so readable. St. Louis Post Dispatch

Diffident Arthur Prescott [is an] endearing hero. . . . [A] thoroughly enjoyable novel . . . The light tone . . . blends well with the clever academic sleuthing. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A pleasing treasure hunt mixed with [romance] . . . [a] bookish diversion with a distinct Masterpiece Theater flavor. Kirkus

Former antiquarian bookseller Lovett here does what he did so well in his debut . . . he uses a contemporary setting to vivify and contextualize ancient writings. Library Journal

Diverting . . . a mystery, a history, a pleasure and a treasure. Find yourself within [these] pages, and you find yourself remembering the virtues of books and book-making. Gregory Maguire, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked and After Alice

Charlie Lovett knows his English history and nowhere it is more evident than in his latest charming, compelling novel. A literary mystery with fantastic historical detail and a modern love story what more