The Riverside Chaucer - Paperback 3

Geoffrey Chaucer

0199552096

9780199552092

English

Oxford University Press

04/09/2008

1392

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, the son of a wine-merchant, in about 1342, and as he spent his life in royal government service his career happens to be unusually well documented. By 1357 Chaucer was a page to the wife of Prince Lionel, second son of Edward III, and it was while in the prince's service that Chaucer was ransomed when captured during the English campaign in France in 1359-60. Chaucer's wife Philippa, whom he married c. 1365, was the sister of Katherine Swynford, the mistress (c. 1370) and third wife (1396) of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, whose first wife Blanche (d. 1368) is commemorated in Chaucer's earliest major poem, The Book of the Duchess. Larry Benson is Emeritus Professor of English at Harvard University, USA. The editor of the Riverside edition of Chaucer's works, he is also the author of Contradiction: From Beowulf to Chaucer; King Arthur's Death: The Middle English Alliterative; Morte Arthure and Stanzai Morte Arthur; Mallory's Morte D' Arthur; and The Learned and the Lewed: Studies in Chaucer and Medieval Literature.

Larry D. Benson

3

Paperback

offers a much-needed shot in the arm to Chaucer studies in colleges and universities (Modern Language Review) indispensable for scholars and beginners alike . Professor Larry D Benson . deserves a medal both for organizing a formidable team of American and British scholars and for the excellence of his own contributions. (IBooks) an enormous advance on its predecessor . particularly in its informative introductory materials, glossary . and the addition of explanatary notes ot the foot of each page. At well over 1,300 pages, it must be a bargain. (Country Life) This is a comprehensive, readable . and up-to-date edition of the first major English poet . the Riverside editors have served their poet handsomely. The new texts are improvements on which reveal just how brilliant an editor Robinson was, despite his limited access to the manuscripts.' (The Guardian) The Riverside Chaucer . . . is beautiful to look at and a sensuous delight to handle. Within its stout covers the entire works of the father of English literature are displayed in fine clear type with very adequate footnote glossaries. The linguistic, historical and literary scholarship are a masterpiece of Anglo-American collaboration. The reading of Chaucer is made into an exquisite pleasure, not a philological chore. This is the best edition of Chaucer in existence. (Anthony Burgess) It is a sheer pleasure to read. (Good Book Guide)