The enduring power of Arthur

How does the significance of the Arthurian legends retain its power in the technological age?

Author and teacher Gordon Strong of Portishead, Bristol, sets out to answer this question in a new book that combines fresh insights into the legends of Arthur and the Holy Grail, and its relevance today, with the contemporary yearning for spirituality and romance.

It's a wise and passionate work that invites the reader to embark on a quest for a personal vision embracing myth, magic and a literary heritage.

Gordon told me he was bringing together a scientific explanation, a literary view focusing on T S Eliot's poem The Waste Land, and the cultural and spiritual aspects.

"Not much has been done, really, to try to put together the literary and magical aspects," said Gordon. "The medievalists, for whom I have great respect, won't touch the spiritual aspects. They keep to the textual references. I have gone outside that."

What endures is that Arthur very much represents the English character, and seems to be a symbol of Englishness; he's a defender of the realm, and a hero. "We like our heroes if they do their stuff," Gordon added.

■ King Arthur, The Waste Land and the New Age is published by Mutus Liber at £14.99. Visit www.gordonstrong.co.uk