Book description
The most complete of all remaining surviving fragments sections of The
Canterbury Tales, the First Fragment contains some of Chaucer's most
widely enjoyed work. In The General Prologue, Chaucer introduces his
pilgrims through a set of speaking portraits, drawn with a clarity that
makes no attempt to conceal their peculiarities. The four tales that
follow - those of the Knight, Miller, Reeve and Cook - reveal a wide
variety of human preoccupations: whether chivalrous, romantic or simply
sexual. Brilliantly bawdy and subtly complex, each of these tales is
alive with Chaucer's skills as a poet, storyteller and creator of
comedy.
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
Edited with an introduction and glosses by Michael Alexander
