The Canterbury Tales: A retelling by Peter Ackroyd - Hardcover

Chaucer, Geoffrey; Ackroyd, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846140587 ISBN 13: 9781846140587

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2009

Synopsis

Famous for its ingenuity and wit, The Canterbury Tales is a major part of England's literary heritage. From the exuberant Wife of Bath's Arthurian legend to the Miller's worldly, ribald farce, these tales can be taken as a mirror of fourteenth century London and medieval society. Incorporating every style of Medieval narrative - bawdy anecdote, allegorical fable and courtly romance - the tales encompass the blend of universal human themes and individual personal detail that have fascinated readers for over 600 years. Here they are retold in full by Peter Ackroyd. The edition also includes an introduction by Ackroyd, detailing some of the historical background to Chaucer and the Tales, and details why he has been inspired to translate them for a new generation of readers.

About this title

Review:

The welcome appearance of Peter Ackroyd's new prose version of The Canterbury Tales ...Ackroyd's "retelling" is compulsive, bold and rare and will surely become a vital crib for generations of students to come.
-- Robert McCrum, Observer, March 30, 2009

This prose adaptation...gives the reader a chance to relish the narrative patterns that are repeated and transformed throughout the splendid patchwork. Ackroyd's stitching and unstitching do Chaucer a fine service.
-- Tom Payne, Saturday Telegraph, 18th April, 2009

Review:

This prose adaptation...gives the reader a chance to relish the narrative patterns that are repeated and transformed throughout the splendid patchwork. Ackroyd's stitching and unstitching do Chaucer a fine service.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1846140587
• ISBN 13: 9781846140587
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464