Book description
In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer created one of the great touchstones of
English literature, a masterly collection of chivalric romances, moral
allegories and low farce. A story-telling competition between a group of
pilgrims from all walks of life is the occasion for a series of tales
that range from the Knight's account of courtly love and the ebullient
Wife of Bath's Arthurian legend, to the ribald anecdotes of the Miller
and the Cook.
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London in about 1342. He was valued
highly by Edward III, who paid part of his ransom when he was captured
fighting in France in 1360. He rose in royal employment, becoming a
Justice of the Peace and was buried in 1400 in Westminster Abbey.
Nevill Coghill's translation of Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde into
modern English is also published by Penguin Classics.
