‘Grendel,’ first published in 1971, has not held up well, infused as it is with shades of Iron John and even Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Grendel lives on the edge of Hrothgar’s world, watching his power ebb and flow and waiting for the chance to wreak havoc with his plans. I can see how this would have been a refreshing take on Beowulf in its time, but now devices like the metaphysical dragon and the book’s hyper masculinity. Perhaps it is time again, 50 years on, for a new perspective on Beowulf.