Chaucer Books

The FN Robinson book is a superb reference for The Canterbury Tales. It includes a very comprehensive glossary, which I found to be very valuable.

For studying Chaucer, I had the following:
The Canterbury Tales (Penguin Classics) by Geoffrey Chaucer and Nevill Coghill
A Companion to The Canterbury Tales by Margaret Hallissy
The Canterbury Tales [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD)-- Michael Murphy ISBN 1402548931

Just like the title says, this book is the 1958 facsimile of the celebrated 1896 Kelmscott edition. This is not somebody's modern translation of Chaucer. This is a comprehensive compendium of Chaucer's works in the full flower of his own medieval English, richly festooned with ornate woodcuts and initial capitals, and presented in an appropriately medieval, yet very readable font. Also included is an excellent glossary for all those English words that have since been shuffled loose from the mortal linguistic coil. This breathtaking text immerses you in the history of those famous words, and is certain to whisk you away from the cares and burdens of the modern world, if only for a spell.

This makes a delightful gift that any serious scholar, medieval history buff, bibliophile and weekend philologist is sure to treasure for many years to come.

In order to understand English litterature and the English language, many have read, or at least tried to read, Chaucers "Canterbury Tales". I too did begin (and sort of finished) the work in Middle English, which is not as hard as one might be lead to think, but is quite labourious and painstakingly slow at times. With this version, a great compromise has been found, translating it as true to the original as possible yet in modern English. I know that every time you make a rewrite or translation, things are lost, but sometimes it is necessary, or just quite convenient. This is one of those times.

It is great fun reading the Canterbury Tales. The structure of the work makes it very accesible and easy to pick up after some time away. You could treat it as a whole entity or as a collection of short stories centered around a group of persons on a pilgrimage. One of the books that any decent home library shouldn't be without.

great buy got here in about one week definitely worth the wait. Great book for a great price

I suppose that any freshman college student has read some of these Tales. I had a professor who read a few of them to us in the Olde English. It was really fun and you really got a grasp of where the English language was coming from - and poetry.
I went on from my English class and read the whole works. They are good, classic short stories. You are really going back to the basics here. The stories are all easy to read and are about the everyday type people and their everyday lives. You get classic English literature, history, short story writing techniques, and the roots of the English language all in one medium sized book. Can't beat it. It's a bargain.

I find it very unfortunate that I wasted my money on this book when I could have read the entire story on the Internet. Of course, the story is out of copyright, and you'll find it all over the Internet, in complete.

Don't waste your money like I did. Even worse, I never even read the book.

My rating is only on the size of the book, because like I said, I never read it, and I am forced to issue a rating (I only wanted to enter a comment).

Chaucer was a master story teller. He was a master poet. He was a master writer. He was just blessed, gifted... there aren't enough words to express the depth of Chaucer's talent... his gift.

This collection reminds me why I fell in love with Chaucer's work back in college. It's one of the more complete collections and I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.

I will read it a thousand times in my life and will undoubtedly love it more with each reading!

A great collection of Chaucer. It's hard to find his other works combined with the Canterbury Tales. The book is well bound and will be something that can be durable enough to stay on the shelves for decades.

The entire book is written in Middle English however. There are plenty of footnotes, but often times the reader will need to find a translation to fully understand some of the passages.

To gauge Chaucer's merit as a poet and as a HUMAN is in our time demanding and therefore questionable. Velleity MAY yield amusement. I will quote Ezra Pound:

"Anyone who is too lazy to master the comparatively small glossary necessary to understand Chaucer deserves to be shut out from the reading of good books for ever. ... As to the relative merits of Chaucer and Shakespeare, English opinion has been bamboozled for centuries by a love of the stage, the glamour of the theatre, the love of bombastic rhetoric and of sentimentalizing over actors and actresses; these, plus the national laziness and unwillingness to make the least effort, have completely obscured the values."

Pound the iconoclast. He does however wake one up to something beyond conjecture:

"Chaucer wrote when reading was no disgrace... Chaucer really does comprehend the thought as well as the life of his time... The Wife of Bath's theology is not a mere smear... 'conseilling is nat comandement.' Chaucer wrote while England was still a part of Europe. He was more compendious than Dante. ...Chaucer uses French art, the art of Provence, the verse art come from the troubadours. He is La Grand Translateur. He had found a new language, he had it largely to himself, with the grand opportunity. Nothing spoiled, nothing worn out. Dante had had a similar opportunity, and taken it, with a look over his shoulder and a few Latin experiments. ...Chaucer and Shakespeare have both an insuperable courage in tackling any, but absolutely any, thing that arouses their interest..."

It goes on and on. One CAN trace the metamorphoses of English verse. Its origin is with Chaucer.

This is the best edition of Chaucer on the market, including all of his major works. If you're serious, this is the one to get.

For whom is the Riverside Chaucer designed? Certainly, if you are a general interest reader encountering Chaucer for a single class (i.e. a survey of Middle English literature) then the Riverside is too large, expensive, and unnecessary. However, if you are an English major, scholar of Medieval literature, graduate student, et cetera, then the Riverside Chaucer is a must.

When you buy this book you can recycle your paperback editions that have just "The Canterbury Tales" or just "The Parliament of Fowls"; collected here are all the works ever written by Chaucer (including a few of dubious authorship). The Riverside is terrific for its sheer volume of its contents, especially as it contains works by Chaucer that are unavailable, or hard to find, as separate edition (particulary his translation of Boethius' "De Consolatione Philosophiae").

Other than serving as your "one-stop Chaucer shop" the Riverside should be celebrated for its elaborate and informative scholary notes. Footnotes, endnotes, indices of proper names, maps, a glossary, and information on pronunciation and verse round out this comprehensive edition. In summary, if you plan on encountering Chaucer more than the average students who takes perhaps a single class dealing with him, this is the edition for you. Those who decide to pursue scholarly work will need the Riverside, as it is THE edition from which Chaucer is cited in research.

There are two questions at issue:

Why Chaucer? Why the Riverside?

First the second. If you are going to read Chaucer, this is the edition to get. It is the critical edition, which means this is the one that scholars quote from in their writings about Chaucer. This is the one any self-respecting Chaucer course will assign. This is the grown-up's edition of Chaucer. And beyond that, it's a great edition -- based on the inspired editors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and with the notes and glosses that you need to link up to the most important backgrounds and criticism.

Also, the Riverside is the complete edition; it presents everything in the original Middle English. That means you get not only the Canterbury Tales, but also all the minor poems -- Troilus and Criseyde (honestly, his most moving poem), the so-called minor poems (the dream visions and lyrics) and Chaucer's translations. The paperback Riverside is also surprisingly easy to carry around.

As to the other question, why Chaucer? Perhaps because he is, as John Dryden called him, the "Father of English Poetry." Any serious student of English literature needs to start here (Shakespeare did!). Also, Chaucer is just supremely human, if that means having a supremely human sense of humor -- one that pokes fun at all the pretensions of our mortal state. At the same time he is capable of grasping after the utmost reaches of human feeling, both religious and romantic. A serious reading of Chaucer reminds a person that the human soul is not an invention of any region or time period of history. The laughter and the tears that are part of what his copyist Shakespeare later calls the "mortal coil" are all here.

Probably the best bargain of a book on all of amazon.com -- NO KIDDING.

As Chaucer himself said, "What is this world, What asketh man to have, Now with his love, now in his colde grave -- allone withouten any compaignye" -- only the Riverside Chaucer; lost on a desert island with no other companion -- this is the first book you would want to have with you and the last one.

This only mildly interesting book weaves tales of the author's 1999 walk from London to Canterbury with English history and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Despite a potentially interesting premise and loads of unusual historical facts to link past and present, the author's ego distracts throughout the book; however it does get to a point where it's almost comical rather than irritating. He's just a bit too dramatic and evidently has had more Very Deep Thoughts and Mystical Life Experiences than the rest of us mere mortals. After a while Professor Lockhart from the 'Harry Potter' books started springing to mind whenever the author's commentary would circle back -- as it always did -- to himself and his mystical insights.

Overall, it's a quick and easy read and I found the historical portions of the book interesting. Frankly, I was rather surprised that one *could* still walk from London to Canterbury on suburban and country roads. However, after reading this, I'd rather walk with someone else.

I am partial to travel commentaries. The best ones have history and sociology lessons embedded in a moving narrative with rapidly changing settings and characters. The author's role is indispensible for he must impose a theme on his trip and package it engagingly for the reader. Jerry Ellis does this quite well. He treks from London to Canterbury along the 60 mile route established in medieval times. The cathedral where Becket was murdered has been drawing pilgrims for centuries. Ellis is of English as well as Cherokee ancestry and this jaunt was intended to lend symmetry to his work since he had earlier walked and written about the Trail of Tears.

You will not enjoy this book unless you have interest in the lifestyles of twelfth century pilgrims. After a few pages of contemporary narrative, Ellis hears something to remind him of ancient ways and the reader knows he's in for a history lesson. However, they are appropriate, informative and quite interesting. Clearly, more time was spent reading the three dozen books in his bibliography than was frittered away in the south of England.

The author uses the novelty of his trek to positively engage people and his interactions tend to be significant- perhaps too meaningful by intention. (He is on a religious pilgrimage.) Of course, he is of the "big tent" religion, and actively seeks parallels between Christian ways and the Cherokee beliefs. Some unifying observations are quite touching.

I found it remarkable that Ellis could find spots to regularly pitch a tent and build a campfire. Evidently, once you are out of London the city ends and woodlands and wheatfields prevail. I can't imagine a pedestrian being so fortunate around any American city. Our less restrictive zoning extends the city for miles along our routes of egress. If Ellis were to make a pilgrimage out of New York, his campsites would likely be threatened by cranky suburbanites and dozens of state, county, village, environmental and parkway police for 60 miles in any direction. To bad he didn't write a bit about land use...

I have to take exception to most of the other reviews. Please hear me out.

The author, a man of Native American and English heritage, wrote an earlier book, Walking the Trail, about a several month walk tracing the infamous Cherokee "Trail of Tears" backward from Oklahoma to his home in northeast Alabama, as well as two other books tracing historic American routes. Mr. Ellis says his trip to England to follow the medieval Christian pilgrims' route from London to Canterbury Cathedral, described most famously by Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, was an effort to connect with his English heritage. I finished the book concluding that Ellis' so-called pilgrimage was just a way to provide his publisher with a sequel to sell based on the reputation and success of Ellis' earlier writing.

For someone supposedly seeking to understand his English roots Mr. Ellis invests minuscule effort in the process. He commits only nine days to his first trip to England: arrives in London, departs the next day a seven-day, 70-odd mile walk, spends the last night in Canterbury, then returns to London by train to catch a flight back to the U.S. Such a short trip can't provide enough material for 295 pages, so Ellis pads the book with flashbacks to his Trail of Tears walk plus a lot of material about medieval English history, customs, daily life and English and non-English Christian practices. Some of the historic material consists of pages-long quotes from other books. Mind you, the historic extracts can be interesting, but there are better sources for such things and the book's subtitle promised "a modern journey through Chaucer's medieval England."

Ellis focuses on some fairly odd people for someone saying he wants to get in touch with his English heritage. His most significant encounters are with unemployed, spike-haired, slackers and their pet iguana (he actually tarries an extra day to party with them), Swedish, French and Dutch tourists, an Iranian immigrant and several bar tenders. No significant encounters with farmers, police officers or teachers. And certainly none with Christians.

Ellis' walk is hardly a religious pilgrimage. His own beliefs are Native American/New Age (i.e., deifying created objects rather than a Creator) and he expresses scant respect for Christianity. On one occasion Ellis hurts his back when he trips in the forest and experiences excruciating pain. That night, seemingly for the first time, in desperation he prays for relief. The next morning he experiences a self-described miraculous healing. Then, rather than credit God for healing him, and perhaps seeing the occurrence as "a sign" to repent and complete the trip as a true pilgrimage of thanksgiving as medieval Christians would have, Ellis quickly explains away his healing as a fluke.

Ellis encounters some New Age tourists from Holland. They are lead by a Dutchman calling himself Geronimo who, for unexplained reasons, came from Amsterdam to England to practice some half-baked version of Native American spirituality in an attempt to relieve urban angst. Ellis writes: "Geronimo's teaching Native American spirituality when he has no such heritage disturbed me." But a few pages later non-Christian Ellis perceives no hypocrisy in himself when he arrives in Canterbury and, among secular visitors there to see the historic building and its art, makes a spectacle of himself by ascending the Cathedral steps on his knees in imitation of a pious Christian pilgrim. Afterward Ellis celebrates the conclusion of his "pilgrimage" at a bar where people mock Christian heritage, then leaves early the next day to rush back to Alabama.

Ellis is a bit of an odd traveler, to boot. He lugs a 40 pound backpack of camping gear and spends a third of his nights in a tent in the semi-rural landscape, sort of like camping in the suburbs while walking from New York City to someplace in Connecticut. And he cooks on campfires several times at historic sites and just off the road in scraps of forest and farmers' fields. I've made walking tours in the British Isles and can tell you people just don't do that sort of thing; most people don't build campfires anymore when they hike in the U.S. One bit of quaintness - the trip occurred in 1999 - is Ellis talking about the great pocket knife he always carries and uses to carve figures in his oak walking stick. Ahhhh, pocket knives.... remember when we were allowed to carry those when we traveled in the good old days before 9-11?

I don't recommend this book. The stories aren't that good and you can easily find better sources about the history of Canterbury or medieval England. I bought it because I enjoy making and reading about both Christian and secular pilgrimages, but this isn't, to my disappointment, really a pilgrimage book.

Walking to Canterbury includes a small scale sketch map of the route, some small black-and-white reproductions of medieval scenes, a three-page bibliography of sources used for the historic extracts and a grainy photo of the author.

This investigation of modern and medieval England is done in a lively hands-on approach by the author in a unique way, as he walks the route of Chaucer's piligrims. A real pilgrimage route in the Middle Ages, the reader feels that he is there every step of the way. If you like adventure, heart, soul, humor and history, you'll love this journey.

Walking to Canterbury is a lyrical journey by foot from London to Canterbury. The marriage of history, adventure and soul in this book, spiced with medieval illustrations, is a delight from the first page. I read it for my book club and the discussion that followed among ten of us was a treasure.

I enjoyed this book on many fronts. It is interesting and thorough without being dense and burdensome. The style is casual and fun. The type and page/word density is attractive and breezy. Thirty minutes of reading actually gets you somewhere. I love that there are pictures sprinkled throughout the book -- rather than delegated to a big clump in the center -- each appearing near its pertinent text. This may not be most complete scholarly work on the life and times of Chaucer, but for a casual historian it is an excellent investment.

As is oft observed about the Medieval epoch, particularly the 14th and early 15th centuries, a lot got lost. Bloody warfare and political upheavals destroyed most of the relatively few documents that were produced in the era, and sheer passage of time between then and now challenges historians to come up with definitive answers to questions like, "What did happen to Chaucer, anyway?"

Geoffrey Chaucer, born circa 1343 A.D., is a remarkable figure on several accounts. First and foremost, he created an oeuvre of poetry that was very popular in his lifetime and has remained so across six centuries. He advanced the use of the English language as an expression of culture. He represented the rise of the commercial class to courtier status, as the crown increasingly relied on independent sources of council and money to fund warfare and courtly acquisitions. Famous in his own time, his life can be traced through contemporary chronicles and court records. But suddenly, the trail goes cold in 1400. There's nothing to say he died of natural causes but there is nothing to say he wasn't murdered. Nonetheless, Terry Jones and fellow scholars have titled their book, WHO MURDERED CHAUCER? They say at the outset that their chase back through the remains of the 14th century is more about the question than the answer because their evidence is circumstantial. It is, however, a very persuasive, thoroughly examined catalogue of evidence that suggests that one way or another, Chaucer was not in a good place come 1400 A.D.

Chaucer rose to eminence because of the cultural values held by the boy king, Richard II. Though Richard has been portrayed as weak and weird, Jones et al find him to be a man who wanted peace, emphasized culture and internationalism, and allowed critical and creative thinking to flourish under his watch. He was done in by his cousin, the conservative, hawkish Henry IV who allowed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Arundel, to institute a reign of terror in the name of orthodoxy. And there stood Chaucer having just satirized several church figures in "The Canterbury Tales." And having the nerve to dun the crown for his annuity. Oh dear.

Jones et al are serious historians who sift through primary documents and interpret a considerable body of scholarship on their subject. They pull it all together in a well-documented, provocative text that is never dry. It is as much about Richard, Henry, Arundel and the world they inhabited as much as it is about Chaucer and his work. It tells us a lot about how the human race advances itself through literature and culture.

Normally, when I read a history book, I am most interested in the factual content and the bibliography and footnotes.

If I were to review this book based solely on academic content, I've got to be honest and say that the authors never really answer the question in the title or prove the thesis of the book. Instead they lay out the evidence for how and why Richard II was deposed and suggest what impact that may have had on Richard's servants and ministers like Geoffrey Chaucer. The footnotes and bilbiography are fairly thorough and add much to their description. I particularly liked how the original text is provided for all quotes along with modern English renderings of the Middle English and Late Latin citations. Moreover the sheer scope of materials consulted is impressive ranging from contemporary English and French chronicles to modern statistical studies and linguistic analysis.

However, the central thesis still eludes this painstaking effort. In fact, the book may do much to show that the central thesis can never be proved. For one thing, the tremendous breadth of the evidence consulted suggests that every stone has been turned over and that we may never be able to answer the question of how Chaucer died at all if we must rely on the sources we now have.

But the authors also admit as much.

They acknowledge that it is not even clear if Chaucer was murdered at all. Instead, they use the conceit that they are laying out a coroner's case.

As a lawyer, I find that description a little too generous. The prima facie case is still missing. But what they do lay out is a plausible motive and some evidence of opportunity. They describe the milieu Chaucer lived in near the time of his death and then suggest some areas where we might continue looking for clues to what happened to him in the end.

That's enough to make a good book. . . and a book I would read for its content alone.

But this book goes one better. The publisher has made an eye-catching package that I couldn't pass up. When I say the book is "beautiful" I'm not exaggerating. The entire book is illustrated like the finest manuscripts of the Middle Ages, --because the illustrations are from those manuscripts themselves. It is printed on sturdy white, glossy paper like a fine art book. Never have the late middle ages come so alive for me.

It is as if we are reading an alternative account of the end of Richard II written almost contemporaneously with our received histories of that era somehow miraculously . If there had been op-ed features in medieval manuscripts this would be the counterpoint to our received Lancastrian opinion of history.

It's more than just a deconstruction of history. It's a re-illumination of it.

I think it may be the best book of its kind I have ever read.

This is an absolutely amazing feat. Impeccable scholarship, daunting research of primary artifacts, and a brilliant distillation of available evidence all merge for this beautiful publication. The end result is remarkable on a multitude of levels.
The primary success is that this is a delightful read for anyone. The fact that it's title character is the father of English literature only adds to it's radiance. Those who dismiss this signature effort as little more than a well bound picture book, clearly failed to give it a read. It is exceptionally well presented because the work itself merits such attention.
Mr. Jones vivacious presentation of this monolithic probe of Chaucer and his environment breathes such life into his subject that he is all but resurrected. He and his colleagues may not have proven Chaucer's murder, but vastly more than reasonable doubt arises after their case is made.
Mr. Jones first work on Chaucer 25 years ago (Chaucer's Knight) was revolutionary. In that work, his exploration of Chaucer's intent insisted on reconsideration of the knight in The Canterbury Tales. He blew the dust off of the conventional interpretation of the knight's tale and revealed the actualities. In this regard, informed academia has never been the same since. Who Murdered Chaucer calls for another reassesment of this fourteenth century innovator. Those who wish to discount Mr. Jones authority because of his theatrical enterprises (which may well include the occaisional dubious historical stretch) are obviously unaware of his formidable expertise in this territory. He is one of the preeminent Chaucerian scholars of our day.
The crowning glory of this endeavor is the animation of Chaucer himself. He is no longer a distant stick figure poised against a diorama. He lives and breathes in his truculent era. We are all the richer for being drawn into his world with our eyes open to it and him.
You'll leave this treatise with an inkling that Chaucer might well be the hero in the end.
A fine, fine, book.

The book takes place in the ill fated reign of King Richard II (1377-1400.) But 1400 was not only the year that Richard II was disposed by Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV). It was also the same year that England's famous poet Geoffrey Chaucer, disappeared. No funeral...no written account...nothing. Doesn't it seem a bit odd that this poet who served both with King Edward III and Richard would suddenly just disappear?

Perhaps he was murdered!

This is the theory that this book lays out. Terry Jones does a superb of informing the reader of the opportunist and controversal politics of that time. Especially the conflict between church reformers and church conservatives; the "Lollards" vs the worldy bishops. And it's in this very conflict that Chaucer may have risked his life by writing the Canterbury Tales, which exposes the corruption of the worldy priest in those days.

Jones looks past the propaganda of that time and paints a more accurate picture of what was going on in England in that time. Who was really the bad guys of those times? The defeated or the conqueror? And to what great lengths would powerful individuals go to to stomp out unpopular opinion?

The book is far from just a boring romp through history. Their is a bit of humor added in and the book never tries to be too confusing for the reader.

Highly recommend!

I love these books and have read everyone now. This one is as a good as the others. I am glad that Owen has finally returned to Wales for a time. Brother Michelo's growth is fascinating.

I agree totally with the reader who wrote that a simple list of characters would have helped. I too, thought the names were very confusing, Dafydd, Dyfrid, the dogs names so close to the men's names...ahhh. The names were also very long. I found myself having to go backwards to read to figure it all out. It was more work than enjoyment. I have read about 5 other Candance Robb books and I enjoyed this one the least. The others were very good.

How do I rate the best thus far in a series of 5-star books?!?! If there were more stars, this book would get them from me. I read it in one day, devoured it like Belgian chocolates. What can I say? I loved the journey through Wales, the pilgrimage. It was great to meet Martin the Fleming again (Jasper's old friend). Sir Robert and Michaelo were wonderful. Tangwystl, yes what a beautiful name. It was fascinating to find out Owen's feelings upon revisiting Wales, crossing the Severn, meeting up with countrymen and family. The author does a phenomenal job of characterizations. The bard Daffyd was fascinating, as were his friends Cadwall and the two dogs. Great books, all of them so far, but this is my favorite. I've been to Wales and this book captures the mystery perfectly!

Spring 1369, Owen Archer, one-time soldier and spy is out recruiting archers for the Duke of Lancaster, but he is also on a mission to find out whether the Duke's own steward is betraying him to the Welsh rebels. Trouble goes before them and a body in the Duke's livery is left at the city gates.
All of Candace Robb's novels have great appeal to those interested in the medieval period and this one is no exception. Owen Archer is a believable hero and the area of York in which he lived is not too far from my own home which lends a extra dimension to the novels from me.

I think this is my favorite so far of the Owen Archer series. It certainly gives one much to think about. Although A Gift of Sanctuary takes place in Wales and lacks the Archbishop's Spy Owen's charismatic wife, Lucy, the apothecary, it does expand on the characters of her father Sir Robert D'Arby and of the Archbishop's secretary, the mercurial Brother Michaelo. These are characters with which the reader has become familiar in earlier works. When the elderly knight and the irritating brother are thrown together as companions on pilgrimage to a sacred site in Wales and travel with Owen who is on a mission for the Duke of Lancaster, the reader has the opportunity to know them better. Both individuals grown in depth throughout the story, adding human interest to the story of murder and love betrayed. Indeeed, the story focuses as much on the development of these two people as it does on the mystery itself.

Haunting too is the tale of Owen's long separation from his family and of the many changes that are wrought by time in one's absence from home. In the years during which the action takes place, travel is a dangerous pursuit undertaken only rarely and then usually for religious or commercial reasons. Most people had not travelled more than a few miles from their home. For Owen, who left home years before to become an archer for the Duke of Lancaster, returning home to Wales is a bitter sweet experience at best.

Interesting too is the reintroduction of the poet Chauce--he appeared in an earlier story as well--and of a Welsh bard (with whose name I am unfamiliar). Both add some comic relief to the story, especially Dafydd ap Gwilym who plays a wise fool throughout. I took a class in Middle English, reading Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, when I was working on my MA in history, and although I struggled through the unfamiliar and vaguely familiar words of the poetry, I never learned much about the man himself. Robb's recreation of his personality, while it may not be perfectly accurate is probably not far from the truth.

Again the author provides an interesting summation of the history of the period, including the political climate of the Welsh-English frontier of the 14th Century.

If you are like most young teens, there will be a time when you will struggle to do the right thing. For sometimes, doing the right thing means your life or the life of someone else will never be the same. The Red Kayak is exactly that kind of story. This gripping and tragic story of a sunken red kayak centers on Brady, his two best friends and a Chesapeake Bay town that is undergoing some very big changes.
This book captures your attention from beginning to end with vivid descriptions and unexpected happenings. From the beginning, when the kayak is seen traveling down the street on top of a sports car, to the death of a young boy, and to the end when Brady discovers the truth behind the sunken kayak, the story grabs your attention. Brady is faced with one of the biggest decisions of his life.
I would highly recommend this book to any young readers, age 9 and up, because the reader can really relate to the many emotions and struggles of the characters. It is a quick and easy read with lots of suspense and life lessons. Even though the book is fictional, the author does a great job of making the story seem realistic.

-Kaylor Kelley

This book was very good, a little dramatic and the language lacked hard words and use of words. I would overall recomand for kids 8-12.

I'm not a big fan of reading, but this book just pulls you into to it. It starts as a breath taking beginning and an unpredictable ending. It's about a thirteen year old boy who was once a hero and then became a back stabber to his friends. Should he face the consequences? Should he keep the truth in him forever? If he does what will happen in his future? This coming of age story is a real page turner and you should read it.

Listen," dad said "Carl called. Somebody's missing on the river, maybe out in the bay. He wants us to take the boats and help look."
I put my hand over my eyes. "Oh my God," I said.

Red kayak is a great book about a kid named Brady trying to decide what to do and how to move on after a water incident that resulted in someone dying.
The book starts off with the three main characters Brady J.T. and Digger waiting to get picked up by Carl (Brady's cousin) and taken to school. Brady is the main main character. He's a teenager his family isn't very rich and he crabs like his dad to get money. Digger is a sub main character. He's one of Brady's best friends at the start of the book. He has a bad dad unfortunately that beets his mother. Digger's grandfather used to own a lot of property that the three buddies hug out on. Recently he had to sell it for money to a new rich family called the DeAngelo's digger is very angry about this. J.T. is Brady's other best friend his family owns a chicken farm, J.T. is really good with computers.
While the three are waiting they see the red kayak of there new neighbor Mr. DeAngelo being paddled out of the creak into the river. Brady is concerned he knows the river well and it's a bad day to be out on the water. Brady tries to get his friends to yell a warning but they end up not. Digger was mad a Mr. DeAngelo for buying his grandfather's property and A few days ago the three were kicked off the property when found by the boat house this Made digger really mad J.T. goes with Digger so Brady decides not to call as well.
Everything goes relatively normal that day at school Brady is worried about the kayak but it seems it will be aright, until Spanish class. During Spanish Brady gets called to the principal's office and learns that in the kayak were not Mr. DeAngelo but his wife and son Ben, and they've gone missing. Brady and his dad are asked to search the river because they're watermen and know the river really well. Luckily they find both Ben and his mother who seem like they will both survive, Brady is very glad he baby sat for Ben and is kind of attached to the kid.
Unfortunately Ben ends up dying Brady blames himself wondering what might have happened if he had called out a warning. His friends start avoiding him after the incident and Brady's left trying to figure out what's going on with his friends, why ben died, and how to deal and move on from what happened.
Over the course of the book many twists in the plot happen and just when Brady thinks he's moving on a whole nother set of choices get thrown at him. This is one of those books that for some reason you can't put down and you stay up tell one reading I highly recommend you all read it.

I just borrowed this book from my husband who teaches 6th grade, and I devoured it in one weekend. It is a good story that reminds me of 'On My Honor'. It deals with loyalty, death and friendships. The end was slightly predictable and I felt it was missing some resolution between the main charater and the mother he was working for.
I think this would be a great read aloud because it moves along quick and it has some good cliff hangers. It would also lead to some good discussion.

Familiarity with Chaucer was the next logical step after being introduced to the period by Anya Seton's praiseworthy historical novel, "Katherine," since Kathryn Swynford was sister to Chaucer's wife, Philippa. But before buying "The Canterbury Tales," I read several biographies of Chaucer, including GG. Coulton's and Marchette Chute's (q.v.). And then it was dive in...

Well, this edition must be the bargain of the century - over 1200 pages for $12 or so. I took the disciplined approach and read through the glossary, and as a German-speaker and a Danish/Norwegian to English translator, I found a LOT of words that had wended their way into Middle English. Still, familiarity with the glossary was a necessity. Then I read all the notes...and I ended up knowing far more about how a cultivated man of 1400 looked back on Greek mythology, and Christian theology as it developed over the centuries. I was amazed at how much Greek mythology influenced even educated thinkers.

And then to the tales themselves. Although I could easily read a fair amount, I was still dependent on the helpful glosses at the bottom of the pages. BUT...after the first two or three shorter tales, I wasn't enjoying Chaucer! Amid all the charm of fables, blood and gore and bawdiness, I wasn't finding anything that touched me, or suggested who and what Chaucer was. And so, I left the book at a book cafe--only to return the next day and retrieve it, with the conviction that there had to be something more substantial than mere wit, intellect, and genius.

And I finally found it, in this passage from the Knight's Tale, (p. 110)
where Theseus sums up the tale:

"The Firste Moever of the cause above,
Whan he first made the faire cheine of love,
Greet was th'effect and heigh was his entente.
Wel wiste he why, and what therof he mente.... [2990]

...."Than may men by this ordre wel discerne
That thilke Moever stable is and eterne.
Wel may men knowe, but it be a fool,
That every part diriveth from his hool;
For nature hath nat take his beginning
Of no partie or cantle of a thing,
But of a thing that parfit is and stable..."

In my translation:
The Firt Mover of the cause above,
When he first made the fair chain of love,
Great was the effect and high was his intent.
Well knew he why, and what thereof he meant....

....Then may men by this order well discern
That such a Mover stable is and eternal.
Well may men know, though he be a fool
That every part derives from His whole;
For nature has not taken its beginning
From a part or portion of a thing,
But from a thing that perfect is and stable...

I intentionally stop with this view of the Divine, before Theseus describes things falling apart in the human realm.

I find it interesting that Lady Julian of Norwich (see her "Revelations of Divine Love") and Chaucer were contemporaries. And, of course, Wycliffe and the Lollards. It makes me wonder just how much non-traditional religious thinking was going on and where Chaucer actually fit into this theological picture.

As a reader of Middle English tales in the original spelling and structure, I found this edition to be a good publication. It makes for good adventure and humor and suspense. I enjoy reading Chaucer in front of my fireplace on snowy winter nights.

Chacuer's Tales have lived on because they address the human condition with keen insight, humor and honesty. Walking to Canterbury by Jerry Ellis is a highly recommended read for those who want to follow the author on a fun walking adventure along the route of the Canterbury Tales. It is easy reading and filled with heart, humor and amazing little known facts about the Middle Ages.

This is an unbelievably great edition of The Canterbury Tales. All I wanted was the original, complete version with definitions for archaic words. But the Penguin Classics edition was all I could find, so I got it. It comes with over 500 pages of extras!!! Super-detailed notes, a great glossary, and lots on Chaucer, his times, literary genres, etc., etc. Multiple interpretations are given for parts scholars don't agree on. I can't believe I paid $80 for the Riverside Chaucer in college! ...which I later sold back for much less. This edition blew me away, and it's relatively cheap.

If you haven't read Chaucer and want to read him in old English, it's tough at first, but it gets easier with practice. There are long tales, short tales, noble tales, bawdy tales, etc. If you just want to read a few, there are cheaper paperbacks with just a few. If you want the complete tales but not the essays and things, they exist, but they're more expensive than this edition!

Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales (Original-Spelling Edition). Edited by Jill Mann. Penguin Classics, 2005. ISBN 014042234X.

The Canterbury Tales itself needs no review, as Chaucer is universally acknowledged to be the greatest English poet after Shakespeare and Milton. As Chaucer's Prologue explains, the Tales are stories told by pilgrims en route to Canterbury. They range from tales of courtly love to bawdy farce to fable. Chaucer is a storyteller, and it might surprise some modern people just how entertaining a seven-hundred-year-old collection of stories might be.

Unfortunately, the English language has changed since Chaucer's time, making it difficult for modern English readers to enjoy the Canterbury Tales without a bit of work. Chaucer wrote in a dialect of Middle English (ME) which is a direct ancestor of Present Day English (PDE). This relationship makes Chaucer much easier to read than other dialects of ME further removed from PDE, such as that in which the Gawain poet wrote. Chaucer's vocabulary, consisting mainly of words derived from French and Old English, is also easier than the Gawain poet's. With a little concentration, the modern reader will probably find many ME words that looked unintelligible are actually similar to PDE words. (This edition includes a note on "Chaucer's Language" which explains Middle English grammar well, but due to its use of grammatical terminology, it will be helpful only to those who already know what such things as pluperfect and genitive singular mean.) Getting used to Middle English will take time, but it's worth it.

Now for this particular edition. I found it well edited, with glosses at the bottom of each page and detailed endnotes, which occupy about a third of the volume. Very rarely did I have a question that Mann did not address in one place or the other. There is a 140-page glossary which includes (I think) all words glossed. Archaic characters such as thorn are replaced with their modern equivalents; otherwise spelling is unchanged. My only complaint is its bulkiness: at 1254 pages, it's quite fat.

Here's a sample of the Canterbury Tales as edited by Mann:


Whilom, as olde stories tellen us,
Ther was a duc that highte Theseus. 860
Of Atthenes he was lord and governour,
And in his time swich a conqueror
That gretter was ther noon under the sonne.
Ful many a riche contree hadde he wonne,
What with his wisdom and his chivalrye. 865

859 Whilom: once upon a time 860 highte: was called


Here's my prose modernization:Long ago, as old stories tell us, there was a duke that was called Theseus. He was the lord and governor of Athens, and such a conqueror that there was none greater under the sun. He had won many a rich country with his wisdom and chivalry.

Now Chaucer can be more complicated than this, but Mann's glosses almost always make him intelligible to the enterprising reader. Many words are very similar to their modern equivalents: "tellen" = "tell," "ther" = "there," "swich" = "such." The French influence is obvious in such words as "riche" and "duc."

As you can see, glosses are identifiable by line numbers at the bottom of the page, but they are not set off in the text. Line numbers correspond, I believe, to the standard lineation of the Tales.

At about twelve dollars on Amazon, this edition is a bargain. It's complete and cheap. I highly recommend it to those who want to read the actual words that Chaucer wrote.

I first bought this at a school book fair while still in junior high. Half a lifetime later it is still a treasure to me, albeit a well-worn treasure. Time for a new copy. I only wish for Donne's Holy Sonnet XIV: Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God, and Hopkins' Hurrahing in Harvest ... "Up above, what wind-walks! what lovely behaviour/Of silk-sack clouds! has wilder, wilful-wavier/Meal-drift moulded ever and melted across skies? ..." This is missing, but there is still enough (and but the beholder wanting). I wish, also, there were more high school English teachers who are excited, passionate about the great poets, but they've become mired in the cult of relevancy. Such a loss. Such a loss.

This book should be in the collection of every person that desires to write poetry. Study it from cover-to-cover before beginning your own writing. I especially like the way it is arranged "historically" - chronologically - so you can more easily understand the changes that occurred during the English history of poetry.

This is an excellent collection of British poetry, and all for the price of a paperback novel. A relatively large selection of poets are represented, focusing mostly on the Elizabethan poets up to the nineteenth century, wisely leaving most of the modern stuff out. Not only are the classic poets like Shakespeare, Herrick, Milton, and Wordsworth present, but also some of the more often overlooked poets such as Emily Bronte, Henry King, and Sir Walter Raleigh. If you are a lover of poetry you probably already own a larger collection of poetry and don't need a relatively small volume like this one. If, however, you are only just discovering the beauty of poetry, this is a worthwhile purchase. "Immortal Poems of the English Language" is also excellent for new poetry lovers. I just wish more people loved this beautiful and uniquely human form of emotional expression.

If you want a good collection of "famous" English poetry, but don't want to spring for the pricey "New Oxford Book of English Verse," this is a very good choice. It's acceptably thick (589 pages), and covers over 120 poets. The editors allot 10-30 pages each to the big names, so you get a good overview of their work. The book has a good-sized, attractive typeface, and is well-indexed.

Drawbacks are minor, but include its age. It was published in 1955, and includes almost no 20th century poets, women, or minorities. There's no biographical or critical data, just the poems themselves. But as a resource for classics, this is a great collection, and a real bargain.

You'll find all of these poems elsewhere... in thick, expensive volumes. You know who to expect here, and, depending on your knowledge of poetry, might be, as I was, pleasantly surprised and introduced to unfamiliar poets. Buy this book because you can. Read it because the poems are great.

One stop shopping for all your British poetry needs? Not quite. While that fellow Anonymous gets a few selections, as does his various collegagues and peers, consider this a sampler. A few selections from everyone. Yes, yes.. a 589 page sampler. That's the beauty of it.

I'm a Hopkins fans, and was pleased to see his best pieces. I expected those. New to me were Marston, Oldys, Googe, and a myriad of others. Now I am intrigued to read more of their work.

Portable, and easy to stuff in a coat or briefcase, you'll like the friendly size of the book. The poets are indexed by last name, but organized by chronology in the text itself. The typography is readable (not that teeny tiny stuff some publishers think is good for anthologies).

What more could you want?

I fully recommend this book.

Anthony Trendl