Product Description

One of the greatest and most ambitious works in English literature, The Canterbury Tales depicts a storytelling competition between pilgrims drawn from all ranks of society.

The tales are as various as the pilgrims themselves, encompassing comedy, pathos, tragedy, and cynicism. The Miller and the Reeve express their mutual antagonism in a pair of comic stories combining sex and trickery; in "The Shipman's Tale," a wife sells her favors to a monk. Others draw on courtly romance and fantasy: the Knight tells of rivals competing for the love of the same woman, and the Squire describes a princess who can speak to birds. In these twenty-four tales, Chaucer displays a dazzling range of literary styles and conjures up a wonderfully vivid picture of medieval life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23232 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1328 pages

About the Author
Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340-1400) was born in London, the son of a wine merchant, and spent his life in royal and government service. His literary work, notable for its range of genres, helped establish the English literary tradition.

Jill Mann is a fellow of the British Academy, an Honorary Fellow of St. Anne's College, Oxford, and a Life Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge.

Customer Reviews

Pilgrimage Tales
As a reader of Middle English tales in the original spelling and structure, I found this edition to be a good publication. It makes for good adventure and humor and suspense. I enjoy reading Chaucer in front of my fireplace on snowy winter nights.

A perfect edition
This is an unbelievably great edition of The Canterbury Tales. All I wanted was the original, complete version with definitions for archaic words. But the Penguin Classics edition was all I could find, so I got it. It comes with over 500 pages of extras!!! Super-detailed notes, a great glossary, and lots on Chaucer, his times, literary genres, etc., etc. Multiple interpretations are given for parts scholars don't agree on. I can't believe I paid $80 for the Riverside Chaucer in college! ...which I later sold back for much less. This edition blew me away, and it's relatively cheap.

If you haven't read Chaucer and want to read him in old English, it's tough at first, but it gets easier with practice. There are long tales, short tales, noble tales, bawdy tales, etc. If you just want to read a few, there are cheaper paperbacks with just a few. If you want the complete tales but not the essays and things, they exist, but they're more expensive than this edition!

Chaucer Was a Sly Fox
Chacuer's Tales have lived on because they address the human condition with keen insight, humor and honesty. Walking to Canterbury by Jerry Ellis is a highly recommended read for those who want to follow the author on a fun walking adventure along the route of the Canterbury Tales. It is easy reading and filled with heart, humor and amazing little known facts about the Middle Ages.