Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Chaucer by Marion Turner - Available

Chaucer

A European Life

by Marion Turner
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Read a sample Read a sample
1 of 1 copy available

A groundbreaking biography that recreates the cosmopolitan world in which a wine merchant's son became one of the most celebrated of all English poets
More than any other canonical English writer, Geoffrey Chaucer lived and worked at the centre of political life—yet his poems are anything but conventional. Edgy, complicated, and often dark, they reflect a conflicted world, and their astonishing diversity and innovative language earned Chaucer renown as the father of English literature. Marion Turner, however, reveals him as a great European writer and thinker. To understand his accomplishment, she reconstructs in unprecedented detail the cosmopolitan world of Chaucer's adventurous life, focusing on the places and spaces that fired his imagination.
Uncovering important new information about Chaucer's travels, private life, and the early circulation of his writings, this innovative biography documents a series of vivid episodes, moving from the commercial wharves of London to the frescoed chapels of Florence and the kingdom of Navarre, where Christians, Muslims, and Jews lived side by side. The narrative recounts Chaucer's experiences as a prisoner of war in France, as a father visiting his daughter's nunnery, as a member of a chaotic Parliament, and as a diplomat in Milan, where he encountered the writings of Dante and Boccaccio. At the same time, the book offers a comprehensive exploration of Chaucer's writings, taking the reader to the Troy of Troilus and Criseyde, the gardens of the dream visions, and the peripheries and thresholds of The Canterbury Tales.
By exploring the places Chaucer visited, the buildings he inhabited, the books he read, and the art and objects he saw, this landmark biography tells the extraordinary story of how a wine merchant's son became the poet of The Canterbury Tales.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 9, 2019

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780691185682

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780691185682
      • File size: 41411 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      February 15, 2019
      A thorough look at the rich "imaginative development" of the author of The Canterbury Tales.Turner (English/Jesus Coll., Univ. of Oxford) concentrates on the cultural and intellectual currents in Geoffrey Chaucer's life (c. 1342-1400), declaring that the "emotional life" of this medieval English author is "beyond the biographer's reach." As she writes, "I've chosen to tell the story of his life and his poetry through spaces and places, rather than through strict chronology." The author manages to glean a great deal about her subject's life: his childhood in Vintry Ward, London, as the son of a prosperous wine merchant; his witness to the ravages of the Black Plague; his lifelong political attachment to the reigning English sovereign, Edward III, and his royal household. As a young teen, Chaucer's employment with Elizabeth de Burgh, the countess of Ulster, allowed him to absorb all the trappings of wealth while his subsequent travels as ambassador and accountant to Edward and John of Gaunt to France and Italy exposed him to the wildly popular medieval love tales of the time, such as "Roman de la Rose." As he pursued his own work, Chaucer wrote in English; Turner partly explains his choosing to write in the vernacular as a kind of international trend of the time. Later, his exploration of innovative rhythms led to the invention of the iambic pentameter. The Canterbury Tales, written during his last years living and working at the counting house in the commercial heart of London, reveals the enormous diversity of personages he encountered; this is especially evident in the novel nuances in his portrayals of women. Turner also diligently explores the inspirations behind Chaucer's recurrent metaphors, demonstrating how he "repeatedly emphasized in his poetry the need to go to the streets and listen to all kinds of people." Though perhaps too dense for general readers, the book is well-suited to scholars and students of medieval literature.A meticulously researched, well-styled academic study showing Chaucer as the "consummate networker."

      COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading