From the New York Times bestselling author of The Bookman’s Tale comes a new novel about an obsessive bibliophile’s quest through time to discover a missing manuscript, the unknown history of an English Cathedral, and the secret of the Holy Grail Arthur Prescott is happiest when surrounded by the ancient books and manuscripts of the Barchester Cathedral library. Increasingly, he feels like a fish … 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 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. 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.
“Lovett’s unique work combines literary and historical research with classic elements of cozy mysteries, classic love stories, and exciting adventure tales to create a true genre-blending masterpiece. At once funny, heartwarming, and suspenseful, The Lost Book of the Grail has something for every kind of reader, and every kind of book-lover, alike.” —Bustle
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A fast-paced adventure into the world of ancient manuscripts. I enjoyed it immensely.
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 can you ask for in one book?
The Lost Book of the Grail is for every book addict. Full of suspense, delightful twists and turns, this is a tale about friendship, love, and the purpose of life.
The Lost Book of the Grail is a book lover’s book. Ambitious in scope, the cheerful bounce of Lovett’s prose skillfully guides the reader through history’s twists.
A vivid, engaging tale that takes the reader along on a delightful search through the ancient libraries of a crumbling cathedral. Settle back and enjoy: this is both a love story and a detective story filled with wonderful historic detail.
A great little mystery, especially for bibliophiles and medievalists!
This is one of those books that not only held my interest but left me grinning in delight at the end. I loved it.
It’s interesting, uplifting, and engages on a higher level. It’s also downright fun.
Highly recommended.
On a quest to finding the Holy Grail to bibliophile end of finding something better. Great characters, fun read.
Entertaining, but started reading more like Christian literature toward the end of the book.
Very well written and thought provoking. Arthur spends his life in routine and research related to Medieval literature. He participates daily in Episcopal liturgies although he is a professed unbeliever. His life is taken from its routine when a young American woman comes to digitize the Medieval book collection he works with. She becomes part of his small group of bibliophiles. As they solve the mysteries of 1500 years, they develop a relationship. The Barchester Bibliophiles discover a holy place of a significance to save a crumbling Cathedral. Arthur is made the Guardian of ancient religious secrets which will require him to remain at that Cathedral. His other path would take him to America. The final chapter takes place in 2020, which is after the publication of The Lost Book, only a few weeks before I was reading that chapter. It was amusing to me that it, of course, did not anticipate a 2020 such as the one we are living through. I wonder what Lovett thinks of that. An updated Afterword would be interesting.
This is one of the best books I’ve read all year. The characters are wonderful, the setting is superb, the mystery is difficult to unravel, and the ending is satisfying. Highly recommend!
Nice, original mystery with a sweet romance. Great English setting and interesting historical background.
I thought this book would be a mystery but it was more a romantic comedy about a grail obsessed professor who finds love.
I couldn’t put it down until I finished it.
Fascinating scholarly history mixed with likeable characters.
I liked that the plot moveed back and forth between time periods. The characters were well developed and interesting.
I appreciated the historical knowledge and the fictional story surrounding it. A very good book.
I have always been fascinated with the legends of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. This story took a different approach to those legends and ancient literature. Very captivating…
I liked the fictional location in England and how the mystery of the Grail played out with two main characters who love books like I do.
Great read for book lovers, especially of old and classic books. Fun romp through Arthurian and English Catholic myths with a twist at the end.
Well-written and loads of fun!