Geoffrey Chaucer (Author)
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London in about 1342, and is known as
'the father of English Literature'. He rose in royal employment to
become a knight of the shire for Kent and a justice of the peace,
and was well-read in several languages and on many topics, such as
astronomy, medicine, physics and alchemy. His works include The
Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde and The Parliament of
Fowles. He died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Geraldine McCaughrean (Author, Re-Teller)
Born and educated in Enfield, North London, Geraldine McCaughrean
is the youngest of three children. She worked at a London
publishing house for ten years, and now works from home, in
Berkshire. She has written around a hundred and sixty books, mostly
for children. She has won numerous awards, including the Whitbread
Book of the Year Children's Novel Award, The Guardian Prize, and
the Carnegie Medal.
“A delight . . . [Raffel’s translation] provides more opportunities
to savor the counterpoint of Chaucer’s earthy humor against
passages of piercingly beautiful lyric poetry.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Masterly . . . This new translation beckons us to make our own
pilgrimage back to the very wellsprings of literature in our
language.” —Billy Collins
“The Canterbury Tales has remained popular for seven centuries. It
is the most approachable masterpiece of the medieval world, and Mr.
Raffel’s translation makes the stories even more inviting.”—Wall
Street Journal
Like Charles Lamb's edition of Shakespeare, Hastings's loose prose translation of seven of Chaucer's tales is more faithful to the work's plot than to the poet's language. This is not a prudish retelling (even the bawdy Miller's tale is included here) but the vigor of Chaucer's text is considerably tamed. In the original, the pilgrims possess unique voices, but here the tone is uniformly bookish. The colloquial speech of the storyteller is replaced by formal prose; for example, while Cohen (see review above) directly translates Chaucer's ``domb as a stoon'' as ``silent as stones,'' Hastings writes ``in solemn silence.'' Cartwright's startling paintings skillfully suggest the stylized flatness of a medieval canvas, but often without the accompanying richness of detail. Like Punch and Judy puppets, the faces and voices of these pilgrims are generally representative but lack the life and charm of the original text. Ages 10-up. (Oct.)
This unabridged edition features some of the BBC's best narrators giving voice to the outrageous personalities of Chaucer's motley crew of medieval pilgrims. Essential. (Audio Oldies but Goodies, ow.ly/6s5xH) (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
"A delight . . . [Raffel's translation] provides more opportunities
to savor the counterpoint of Chaucer's earthy humor against
passages of piercingly beautiful lyric poetry."-Kirkus
Reviews
"Masterly . . . This new translation beckons us to make our own
pilgrimage back to the very wellsprings of literature in our
language." -Billy Collins
"The Canterbury Tales has remained popular for seven
centuries. It is the most approachable masterpiece of the medieval
world, and Mr. Raffel's translation makes the stories even more
inviting."-Wall Street Journal
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