6The Engulfed Cathedral is the expression of a mental state. It is not archaic, but it seeks to defend a place that exists only in the mind: the Gesamtkunstwerk, the sacred book of the arts. The author uses his philosophy and love of lore to create a series of vignettes, any one of which will entertain the deeper reader and all of which serve as a collection of ideas to be viewed, savoured and considered. The book consists of twenty essays on literature, music and fantasy, covering figures like Malory, Spenser, Shakespeare, Rossetti and Joyce. 'The Romantic Temperament' explores the youthful writers of the Romantic era; 'Edvard Grieg' spends time with the composer, his myth and legacy; 'The History of Middle-earth' brings high fantasy into the unexpected periphery of Goethe. There is a thinking reader on each of our six continents, and The Engulfed Cathedral offers them repose with a like mind.