THE Cambridge Companion to Piers Plowman seeks to provide an up-to-date study of this medieval poem and the research that has been undertaken on it. There are 12 essays, divided into three sections: the poem and its traditions, historical and intellectual contexts, and readers and responses. The whole has been edited by Andrew Cole and Andrew Galloway (Cambridge University Press, £20.99 (£18.90); 987-1-107-40158-7).
Sacred and Profane Love: Two plays by Edmond Rostand provides new translations of La Samaritaine (The Woman of Samaria) and La Dernière Nuit de Don Juan (The Last Night of Don Juan). The English version of the former is by Philippa Gerry and Due Lloyd; of the latter by Sonia Yates and Sue Lloyd (Genge Press, www.gengepress.co.uk, phone 01643 706461, £12; 978-0-9549043-6-4).
The volume Poetry and Prayer: The power of the word is the second in a series of three looking at the relationship between its two eponymous subjects. Edited by Francesca Bugliani Knox and John Took, it opens with five essays on theoretical perspectives, before offering eight specific case studies, including Psalm 145, Dante, R. S. Thomas, and Denise Levertov (Ashgate, £75; 978-1-4724-2621-5).