Chaucer, Geoffrey Books

The Canterbury Tales (Modern Library)

Geoffrey Chaucer

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Editorial Review:

It would be impossible to overstate the influence of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. A work with one metaphorical foot planted in the Florentine Renaissance literary tradition of Boccaccio’s Decameron and the other in works ranging from John Bunyan, Voltaire, and Mark Twain to the popular entertainments of our own time, The Canterbury Tales stands astride the cultures of Great Britain and America, and much of Europe, like a benign colossus.

Beyond its importance as a cultural touchstone and literary work of unvarnished genius, Chaucer’s unfinished epic poem is also one of the most beloved works in the English language–and for good reason: It is lively, absorbing, perceptive, and outrageously funny–an undisputed classic that has held a special appeal for generations of readers. Chaucer has gathered twenty-nine of literature’s most indelible archetypes–from the exalted Knight to the bawdy Wife to the besotted Miller to the humble Plowman–in a vivid group portrait that captures the full spectrum of late-medieval English society and both informs and expands our discourse on the human condition.

Presented in these pages in a new unabridged translation by the esteemed poet, translator, and scholar Burton Raffel–whose translation of Beowulf has sold more than a million copies–this Modern Library edition also features an Introduction by the well-known and widely influential medievalist and author John Miles Foley that discusses Chaucer’s work as well as to his life and times.

Despite the brilliance of Geoffrey Chaucer’s work, the continual evolution of our language has rendered his words unfamiliar to many of us. Burton Raffel’s magnificent new translation brings Chaucer’s poetry back to life, ensuring that none of the original’s wit, wisdom, or humanity is lost to the modern reader.

The Canterbury Tales (Penguin Classics)

Geoffrey Chaucer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Too bad I bought this book. 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 48 people found this review helpful.

I find it very unfortunate that I wasted my money on this book when I could have read the entire story on the Internet. Of course, the story is out of copyright, and you'll find it all over the Internet, in complete.

Don't waste your money like I did. Even worse, I never even read the book.

My rating is only on the size of the book, because like I said, I never read it, and I am forced to issue a rating (I only wanted to enter a comment).

The Hobo Philosopher 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I suppose that any freshman college student has read some of these Tales. I had a professor who read a few of them to us in the Olde English. It was really fun and you really got a grasp of where the English language was coming from - and poetry.
I went on from my English class and read the whole works. They are good, classic short stories. You are really going back to the basics here. The stories are all easy to read and are about the everyday type people and their everyday lives. You get classic English literature, history, short story writing techniques, and the roots of the English language all in one medium sized book. Can't beat it. It's a bargain.

Editorial Review:

With their astonishing diversity of tone and subject matter, The Canterbury Tales have become one of the touchstones of medieval literature.

Translated here into modern English, these tales of a motley crowd of pilgrims drawn from all walks of life-from knight to nun, miller to monk-reveal a picture of English life in the fourteenth century that is as robust as it is representative.

Translated by Nevill Coghill

The Canterbury Tales (Norton Critical Editions)

Geoffrey Chaucer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This Norton Critical Edition includes the most admired of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Each is presented in the original language, with normalized spelling and substantial annotations for modern readers. Among the new added to the Second Edition are the much-requested "Merchant's Tale" and the "Tale of Sir Thopas."

"Sources and Backgrounds" are included for the General Prologue and for most of the tales, enabling students to understand The Canterbury Tales in light of relevant medieval ideas and attitudes and inviting comparison between Chaucer's work and his sources.

"Criticism" includes nine essays, four of them new to this edition, by leading Chaucerians, among them F. R. H. DuBoulay, E. Talbot Donaldson, Barbara Nolani, and Lee Patterson.

A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.

About the Series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.

The Canterbury Tales (Puffin Classics)

Geoffrey Chaucer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Just say "no!" to translations 1 out of 5 stars.
17 of 38 people found this review helpful.

If you're going to read the Canterbury Tales, read them in the original Middle English (which is alot more understandable than Old English and much closer to our own Modern English). You will surely miss out on the rhythm, poetry, and humor of these fabulous stories were you to read them in translation. I would recommend the Riverside Chaucer instead.

Fun to read 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 19 people found this review helpful.

If you want a modern english version that's funny and easy to read, this is the book for you. If you are looking for something scholarly and/or more difficult to read, get a different version.

Teacher's Delight 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Finally, help in getting children to comprehending and enjoy the art of Old English Ballads and the historical value of the storyteller.

This is not the Canterbury Tales! 1 out of 5 stars.
8 of 19 people found this review helpful.

This is a retelling of the Canterbury Tales, very simplified...in some cases leaving out the best parts! I believe it may have been originally intended safe for children.

If you're looking for a translation into modern English, keep looking. I am.

Editorial Review:

Here are tales told by members from all parts of English society of the 14th century, reflecting on life as they travel the road from Southwark to Canterbury.

The Canterbury Tales: (original-spelling edition) (Penguin Classics)

Geoffrey Chaucer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Worth its weight in gold 5 out of 5 stars.
51 of 52 people found this review helpful.

I bought this Penguin Classics edition of Chaucer last year during a visit to Canterbury. I already owned the modernized edition edited by the late Nevill Coghill, but I figured: Hey, I'm in Canterbury--I have to buy a copy. So I bought this one.
For starters, this is the complete text of the Tales, and it is in the original Middle English. While the language may take a while to get used to (for beginners, especially) it's a blast to read. Another plus for this edition is the heavy, heavy glossing and a really extensive notes section which helped even an experienced reader of Chaucer like myself.
If you're new to Chaucer, or even if you're not, this is the edition to have. It's a paperback, so it's portable, and it's complete. You won't be left wanting an odd tale or two with this book.
Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

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.

The Complete Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer

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The Canterbury Tales (Bantam Classics)

Geoffrey Chaucer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 84 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

On a spring day in April--sometime in the waning years of the 14th century--29 travelers set out for Canterbury on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas Beckett. Among them is a knight, a monk, a prioress, a plowman, a miller, a merchant, a clerk, and an oft-widowed wife from Bath. Travel is arduous and wearing; to maintain their spirits, this band of pilgrims entertains each other with a series of tall tales that span the spectrum of literary genres. Five hundred years later, people are still reading Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. If you haven't yet made the acquaintance of the Franklin, the Pardoner, or the Squire because you never learned Middle English, take heart: this edition of the Tales has been translated into modern idiom.

From the heroic romance of "The Knight's Tale" to the low farce embodied in the stories of the Miller, the Reeve, and the Merchant, Chaucer treated such universal subjects as love, sex, and death in poetry that is simultaneously witty, insightful, and poignant. The Canterbury Tales is a grand tour of 14th-century English mores and morals--one that modern-day readers will enjoy.

Selected Canterbury Tales (Dover Thrift Editions)

Geoffrey Chaucer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Classic 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Chaucer begins a literary tradition by writing about everyday people, not just the nobility. He depicts the characters with humor and insight. The tales themselves say much about the times and people. Just because it's a classic doesn't mean it isn't good. This edition saves you money but still gives you the Chaucer "flavor."

Chaucer was ENGLISH! 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 14 people found this review helpful.

Please realize that the above reviewer is mistaken; Chaucer does not chronicle the lives of Greeks WHATSOEVER. The Tales recount a pilgrimage in England!

Selected Canterbury Tales 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 38 people found this review helpful.

This book was wonderful and exciting. Chuacer, a old Greek writer, was a magnificent author and this book deserves a look. Reviewed by many historians, this book reveals much about Greeks past and is worth the 1.60 price (compared to 2.00 at bn.com). RECOMMENDED

Editorial Review:

Delightful collection includes the General Prologue plus three of the most popular tales: "The Knight's Tale," "The Miller's Prologue and Tale," and "The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale." Recast in modern English verse that captures the lively spirit of the originals.

The Pardoners Tale, The Frankeleyns Tale, The Nonne Preestes Tale: in Middle English (Complete Classics)

Geoffrey Chaucer

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Editorial Review:

These three tales from "The Canterbury Tales" are read in the original Middle English by Richard Bebb under the direction of Britain's foremost Chaucer scholar, Derek Brewer. This was Bebb's last recording - he died shortly after finishing it - but though ill at the time, his strong professional ethic ensured that it lacks none of the brightness and accuracy that he brought to his two other Chaucer recordings on Naxos AudioBooks, "The General Prologue" and "The Knyghtes Tale".

The General Prologue & The Physician's Tale: In Middle English & In Modern Verse Translation (Naxos Audio)

Geoffrey Chaucer

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Editorial Review:

In an authoritative performance by actor Richard Bebb, two sections from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are presented in Old English, under the advisement of the leading living scholar on Chaucerian pronunciation, Professor Derek Brewer.