Book description
At the Tabard Inn in Southwark, a jovial group of pilgrims assembles,
including an unscrupulous Pardoner, a noble-minded Knight, a ribald
Miller, the lusty Wife of Bath, and Chaucer himself. As they set out on
their journey towards the shrine of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury, each
character agrees to tell a tale. The twenty-four tales that follow are
by turns learned, fantastic, pious, melancholy and lewd, and together
offer an unrivalled glimpse into the mind and spirit of medieval
England.
Born in London to a wine merchant, Geoffrey Chaucer (c1340-1400)
became a royal servant and travelled as a diplomat to France, Spain
and Italy. As well as being famed for his translations, his own work
includes Troilus and Criseyde, The Book of the Duchess and The Legend
of Good Women.
Jill Mann has been Professor Medieval & Renaissance English at
Cambridge University, and most recently Notre Dame Professor of
English. She is the author Feminizing Chaucer (2002), and co-editor
(with Piero Boitani) of The Cambridge Companion to Chaucer (2nd edn. 2003).
Jill Mann has been Professor Medieval & Renaissance English at
Cambridge University, and most recently she was Notre Dame Professor
of English. She is the author Feminizing Chaucer (2002), and co-editor
(with Piero Boitani) of The Cambridge Companion to Chaucer (2nd edn. 2003).
