I've long had a quiet obsession with all things Pan, fed, over the years, by occasionally stumbling over another Pan based story or fleeting reference hidden in the pages of a supernatural anthology. Of late though I've been spoiled by a couple of exemplary books focussed on the goat-footed God, Michael Wheatley's excellent collection for the British Library's Tales of the Weird imprint, 'The Horned God: Weird Tales of the Great God Pan' and now this fascinating study of the history and the many reinventions of Pan in art, literature, music and magic. It's hugely recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in the Arcadian God and while I have to admit to skimming through a couple of parts that I wasn't particularly interested in - the section on Depth Psychology for instance - I poured over others filling several pages in my notebook with new treasures to seek out. Here, Robichaud explores Pan's origins and development, his place in history, and, of most interest to me, his roles in the literary works of Lord Dunsany, D.H. Lawrence, Kenneth Grahame, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Arthur Machen, Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, and many others. Robichaud has produced a wonderfully readable overview of the many masks worn by this most mutable of gods as his very nature has been reinterpreted to suit various ends, be he devil or benefactor, avenging nature spirit or welcoming protector of the wild, coded expression of hidden sexualities or lusty old nymph chaser careening across the Arcadian landscape.