Author Description

A collection of 20 essays on works ranging from Beowulf through Paradise Lost to Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead . Among the topics: the possible authorship and diction of Old English literature; the voyage motif; the roles of dragons, Valkyries, and women in northern Germanic literature; Chaucer's poems; and modern adaptations of Beowulf . The volume lacks a subject index. Gruber is dean of Missouri Valley College's Arts and Humanities division. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)