Product Description

Since its first publication in 1989, Helen Cooper's guide to he Canterbury Tales has established itself as the standard work on the poem. This second edition continues to offer the most comprehensive scrutiny of the Tales both as a whole and individually. In addition, Cooper incorporates the most significant recent scholarship and criticism, reflecting current research in the areas of Chaucer's historical and social context and developments in the interpretation of Chaucer's presentation of women.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67107 in Books
• Published on: 1996-05-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 456 pages

Review

Praise for the first edition: "Marked by wit, learning, intelligence, and that rarest of critical virtues, good judgement...this is now the first book on The Canterbury Tales to consult after reading the text itself."--Studies in the Age of Chaucer.
"Cooper's guide is a more powerful book than any previous aid or introduction to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It presents the lively and generous mind of a serious scholar and a sensitive reader."--Notes and Queries.
"A substantial work...with something of the proportions and production quality of a reference volume....This is a major book with many virtues...[and] much to offer its reader"--Review of English Studies.

About the Author

Helen Cooper is Fellow in English at University College, Oxford.

Customer Reviews

A Classic
This and Elaine Tuttle Hansen's _Chaucer and the Fictions of Gender_ are, I think, the two single best books of Chaucerian criticism out there. This book provides everything you need to know about the CT: the sources and influences of the Canterbury Tales, the themes and issues for each teller and his/her tale, and the dominant interpretations out there. Plus there's the Cooper-type insight into the tales you just come to expect from her work. This one's a classic.