The House of Fame - Geoffrey Chaucer

Advantages: A true classic of the English language
Disadvantages: In Middle English without translation, it can be difficult to read

...Canterbury Tales', is edited by Larry Benson. Thie book is designed for those who only want the Canterbury Tales, not the other writings of Chaucer, but want a set of the complete tales and prologue from standard texts. This comes from the Riverside Chaucer, with introductory notes explaining plot, versification, and various issues that might arise in the translation of the tales. The indexes include one for proper names. There is also a timeline showing Chaucer's life that is handy for students. There are countless versions of 'The Canterbury Tales' floating around, from paperbacks for a very low cost to great folio editions costing hundreds. Such is the popularity of 'The Canterbury Tales' that it is a consistent best-seller for many publishers, such as Bantam, Penguin, and other paperback houses. While some translations and some Middle... Read review

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Advantages: Chaucer's Greatest Work
Disadvantages: Problems with reading Middle English

...Chaucer’s ‘CanterburyTales’, which appeared some time in the 1380s, has done his reputation a disservice in that its popularity and reasonable accessibility has led most people other than Chaucer scholars to ignore a very much greater work :’Troilus and Criseyde’. The ‘Tales’ are a valuable social and historical document. They are for the most part lively and amusing. The interplay between the various individuals telling the tales is a delight. Such is the charm of the work that its manifold faults are usually ignored. Some of the tales are very tedious, especially the one told by Chaucer himself. The style is often clumsy, that of someone who has not yet found his full voice. In a sense, it’s like the early works of Dickens, in which you see the potential for greatness not yet achieved. Like the work by Dickens, too... Read review

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Advantages: English literature at its finest
Disadvantages: None

...are the difficult ones. Children are not the kindest of critics and I knew full well that a book of a different kind would be running when I spoke the words of whatever passage I chose. The other pupils took bets on how many words I would fail over. When this trial was due all around were stunned to see my hand go up into the air and to hear me volunteer to be the first to perform; I had a plan! Geoffrey Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales were going to rescue me from my tormentors. I had read the book many times in a version translated into modern English by Professor Neville Coghill and always it had made me laugh out loud and I was certain that one in particular of its wonderful stories would so transfix my audience that they wouldn’t notice how poorly I delivered it to them. So it proved, the gambling was abandoned as all about me lost count of my... Read review

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