Whose Beowulf is it anyway? A review of Electronic Beowulf

'Beowulf? ... that's by Seamus Heaney. Sorry we're sold out.' It is hardly surprising that Heaney's new translation of Beowulf should seem like a completely new work. It has been a very long time since Grendel's mother was on the archaeology reading list, let alone among the best sellers. The new translation has a parallel, less popular but in many respects more interesting, product from the British Library in the shape of Electronic Beowulf, a CD-Rom (or two) which provides virtual access to the medieval manuscript itself.