From Ritual to Romance (ISBN 1596053232)

Useless for understanding both anthropology and Eliot:
In this work of pop-anthropology from 1920, Jessie L. Weston puts forth the idea that the romance of King Arthur and the search for the Grail is no mere fairy tale, but rather a mythos that goes back to earliest man's fertility rites and the annual rebirth of the land after winter. Most nowaways would look to this book for anthropology or to help understand the poetry of T.S. Eliot. However, this tome of outdated early-20th century thought is useful for neither purpose. In FROM RITUAL TO ROMANCE Ms. Weston presents, like Julian Jaynes in his book THE ORIGIN OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE BREAKDOWN OF THE BICAMERAL MIND, a theory that once sounded revolutionary and a great solution but has since been superseded. Late in her life (she was 70 when she wrote this book), Ms. Weston become enamoured with the vegetation ceremony theories of Sir James Fraser, and indeed this book is based upon the ideas Fraser expounded in his multi-volume Victorian work "The Golden Bough." Nowadays Fraser is only mentioned in anthropology courses to give an idea of how the science started and nearly everyone understands now that his is not a valid view on early man (much like Freud, heavily discounted after his death, is presented to psychology students to only show them how pyschology started). If the base upon which FROM RITUAL TO ROMANCE is built, i.e. Fraser's theories, is disproven, Weston's thesis comes tumbling down like a house of cards. FROM RITUAL TO ROMANCE probably reminds in print because T.S. Eliot, in the footnotes to his great poem "The Waste Land", claimed that the book was a key inspiration for that crucial event in 20th-century literature. However, since the discovery in 1967 of the original manuscripts of "The Waste Land", it has been generally understood that Eliot's footnotes are a red herring, that the poem's source was really his emotional turmoil and despair in 1920 and 1921, and that the footnotes were added only to make the poem large enough to be published in its own volume and to clarify some of the more obscure literary references. Thus, any fan of Eliot searching for illumination on "The Waste Land" in FROM RITUAL TO ROMANCE would come away with less than if he had just read any of the extant biographies of Eliot (and his mentally-ill wife of that time, Vivien). So, FROM RITUAL TO ROMANCE does not help one to understand either the anthropological source of the King Arthur mythos (which probably doesn't go back very far anyway, says modern archaeology), or Eliot's "The Waste Land". Should one want to understand that work of Eliot's better, I'd recommend getting a copy of the original manuscripts in THE WASTE LAND: A Facsimile and Transcript of the Original Drafts Including the Annotations of Ezra Pound.

Excellent Synthesis of Grail Literature with Mystery Cults:
The review below which tries to discredit this amazing book is propaganda based on innuendo and inaccuracies. Actually, Weston's book does not fall with the fall of Frazer's theories. Many of Frazer's theories are still quite valid, something the reviewer doesn't bother to mention ; what are mainly critiqued in Frazer was his evolutionary approach to religion (a common characteristic of scholars of the time which is disparaging of less technologically developed societies), his simplistic notions of the distinctions between religion and science and their interrelationship, and at present, his use of the comparative method is not in style in the academy, although such trends tend to follow a pendulum development. What is undisputed is his firm grasp of classical material (he was a Classics scholar), and his accurate rendering of European folklore, which does fit the classical models he invokes. There is nothing radical in these ideas ; however, there is an agenda to discredit them by those who oppose the "Jesus Myth" theory. All of this is preface to an apologetic for Weston's book, because it demonstrates that the polemics against Frazer are inaccurate, and therefore the primary arguments she draws from Frazer stands. However, she herself has done independent research showing the interrelationship of the themes in common between ancient religious complexes like the Osiris-Adonis-Attis dying and rising gods who renew the fertility of the land, and the Wasteland themes in the Grail. It is popular nowadays to dismiss Weston's view as if she were naive ; in fact, she is quite aware of her critics even in her time and takes the time to carefully answer them. What is clear is the following : 1) The cult of Tammuz/Adonis was in fact about a king whose life, death, and resurrection were linked to the fertility of the land (as was Osiris as well), 2) The seasonal festivals described by Mannhardt and Frazer (as well as multiple other folklorists) does fit the Tammuz pattern in striking fashion, and 3) The Grail themes Weston outlines do in fact exist in the literature, and do match 1) and 2)above. You may disagree with her conclusions, but these three commonalities are FACTS that must be reckoned with. In short, this is an excellent book that connects many of the dots in an ancient mystery, in a satisfying and thorough manner.

An influential work on four 20th century seminal works:
Jessie L. Weston's book written in 1920 is a seminal work on ancient religion, roots of early Christianity, and examines the story of the Holy Grail by exploring the legend's Gnostic roots. This book had a crucial influence on four important works of the twentieth century: T. S. Elliott's poem the Waste Land, Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code, and Francis Ford Coppolla's movie Apocalypse Now, screenplay by John Milius. Weston wrote fourteen books on Arthurian legends throughout her life. This is her last book, which sums up her Grail theory, which fusses ideas from J. G. Frazier's book The Golden Bough and Gnostic texts that serve as a link to early Christianity's influence from ancient nature cults. Her chapter titles say much about where her work goes and why it is so influential on iconic twentieth century works. The Task of the Hero explains the original nature of the task imposed upon the hero, it undoubtedly influenced both Campbell's and Coppola's works. Medieval and Modern Forms of Nature Ritual looks to establish a chain of descent connecting early Aryan and Babylonian ritual with classic, Medieval and modern forms of nature worship. The Symbols searches Grail symbology throughout history. The Medicine Man explains the role of the Medicine Man or doctor in fertility ritual. The Fisher King analyzes how this title is prevalent in so many of humankind's legends, and was a definite influence on Coppola's Colonel Kurtz character. Mysteries of the Secret of the Holy Grail and its regard as an object of awe certainly influenced The Da Vinci Code. Weston's book is interesting and fun to read. I especially became interested in it from the movie Apocalypse Now. There is a scene in the movie that shows Colonel Kurtz's nightstand in his cave. Weston's book is one of three on the nightstand. The other two are Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which the film is based on. The other book is J. G. Frazier's book The Golden Bough. Anyone wanting to understand the movie Apocalypse Now, especially the character of Colonel Kurtz, and what Milius and Copolla are trying to tell their audience need to read these three books! As a graduate student reading in philosophy and history I recommend this book for anyone interested in literature, myth, history, philosophy, religion and fans of Apocalypse Now.

A waste of both time & money .... I expected more & got less:
Based on other reviews I expected great things. What I got was a book written in the 20s which has never been updated. The quotes from other works are in French or other languages without translation. There is nothing here that has not been covered by newer works in greater detail.

What I tell you three times is true.:
Snarkiness aside, there is something so Jamesian about this odd little book with its odd little story. An heiress, paganism, recriminations, surrealism. To me it read as a poorly organized (although not totally disorganized) ramble about something that occurred to Weston after a life time of reading, with these loosely joined ideas often proven `with out doubt, doubtlessly, and surely proven' by quoting someone else - lots of someones else. It seemed to be a pastiche of quotes (with one touching instance of her asking readers to help verify a memory), and somewhat poor attitude toward her rather numerous critics. While she did have her successes, everyone seems to have disowned her rather completely and rather quickly. Today, it seems the tempest in a teapot, and hardly worth the read. I did though, and if you are so inclined, be advised that there is at least one book out there that has full translation of numerous quotes, with the exception of a scattering of French. It must have been inconceivable in the 1950s (whence my edition) that we wouldn't be conversant in French.