This book is a very traditional one (in the best sense of the term) and will appeal to those interested in detailed philological analysis and source-critical rigour rather than theories of ‘the apocalyptic’. The author's aim, set out in the introduction, is to examine the views of the Anglo-Saxon monk, exegete and historian Bede (673–735) regarding the end of time. As Darby notes, there has been something of a boom in Bedan scholarship in recent years, with introductory handbooks written by George Hadin Brown (Woodbridge 2009) and edited by Scott DeGregorio (Cambridge 2010). Nevertheless, there has yet to be a sustained engagement with Bede's eschatology, a matter which is all the more surprising given that some of the venerable monk's earliest works are dedicated to the theme. Indeed, the end of time is a subject which interested Bede throughout his career and a fuller appreciation of his eschatological views thus has important implications for the entire Bedan canon. Darby rightly emphasises that Bede's eschatology is not monolithic: it developed and changed over the course of his career. In order to trace these developments, Darby's study proceeds roughly chronologically through Bede's known eschatological works: the first three chapters (part i) are dedicated to the world ages scheme in Bede's writings; the fourth and fifth (part ii) examine Bede's eschatological vision, surveying how he envisaged the events of the endtime; and the final three chapters (part iii) discuss Bede's eschatological perspective (viz., how he placed contemporary events within an eschatological framework). Throughout, Darby's arguments are convincing and his conclusions judicious. Though Bede's efforts more often than not produced a kind of bricolage of earlier sources and authorities, which might strike the modern eye as derivative, Darby rightly emphasises that the cumulative effect is, in fact, highly original. This is, therefore, an important study of an important subject, which will repay examination not only by scholars of Anglo-Saxon history and literature, but also by those who are interested in medieval apocalyptic traditions more generally. Darby is at his best when discussing Bede's writings within their immediate context and his command of Bede's works and their sources is impressive. Where Darby is somewhat weaker, however, is in placing this material within its historical and historiographical context. Thus, though Bede's sources are discussed in admirable detail, his influence on later writers is only touched on in passing (pp. 216–17), leaving the reader uncertain as to his legacy. It is also a pity that Darby has not engaged more with the rich and growing literature on late antique and early medieval apocalypticism (this reviewer was surprised, for example, not to see the work of Johannes Fried or Sylvain Gouguenheim cited). Still, it would be wrong to end on a negative note. Darby has put us all in his debt with this fine study, which will be the standard work on the subject for many years to come.