It is at the core of all Western culture: the story of the Holy Grail, the secret history of Christianity and the grand quest to find it that informs everything from tales steeped in centuries, such as the legend of King Arthur, to the most modern popular fiction, like The Da Vinci Code. In this highly readable but densely informative work, Waite, a preeminent 19th-century expert in esoterica, explores all the literature dedicated to this "legend of the soul" from both an intellectual and a spiritual perspective, seeking out the elemental through-lines of this most fundamental of stories as well as a mystical essence of Christianity itself. Students of folklore, readers of fantasy-quest fiction, and seekers after religious truth will all find this a vital resource. American-born British occultist and author ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE (1857-1942) was cocreator of the famous 1910 Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Among his numerous books are Book of Ceremonial Magic, The Holy Kabbalah, and New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry.