The twelfth-century Wace, now best known for his vernacular chronicles, was the author of three fascinating hagiographical works presented in this volume: the Conception Nostre Dame and the Lives of SS Margaret and Nicholas, written in Old French verse, probably between c. 1130 and 1150 (though the Nicholas Life may possibly date from the 1160s). The Conception, which covers much more than its title suggests, has five sections: one on the introduction of the feast of the Conception of Mary, one on her conception, birth, childhood, the entrusting of her to Joseph, the Annunciation, Visitation and Virgin Birth, a short transitional section, one on the story of the three Marys and one on the Assumption. Wace draws heavily on apocryphal texts in composing what is essentially a Life of Mary (the De nativitate Mariae, the Trinibium Annae and the Transitus Mariae), though the parts may have been written separately and then linked. The Margaret Life draws on Latin hagiographical texts but demonstrates Wace's authorial skills in dramatic narrative and in style, as well as reflecting changes in the spirituality and literary culture of the twelfth century. It also has the distinction of being the earliest surviving French work in which the author identifies himself and discusses the writing of the text. Wace's Life of Nicholas, again with Latin sources, is more a miracle collection than a Life and is the earliest such collection in French; it appears to be the latest of the three texts included here and the most developed in terms of style and authorial voice. All three texts are reprinted from earlier editions by W. R. Ashford, E. Ronsjö and H.-E. Keller, published in 1933, 1942 and 1990 respectively, but are translated into English for the first time, and provided with detailed and erudite introductions and notes. This is a splendid and very useful volume, of interest to those working on vernacular literature, hagiography, history, liturgy and spirituality.