Loading...
146th out of 172 books
—
29 voters
My rating:
add to my books
Chaucer: Ackroyd's Brief Lives
In the first in a new series of brief biographies, bestselling author Peter Ackroyd brilliantly evokes the medieval world of England and provides an incomparable introduction to the great poet’s works.
Geoffrey Chaucer, who died in 1400, lived a surprisingly eventful life. He served with the Duke of Clarence and with Edward III, and in 1359 was taken prisoner in France and...more
Geoffrey Chaucer, who died in 1400, lived a surprisingly eventful life. He served with the Duke of Clarence and with Edward III, and in 1359 was taken prisoner in France and...more
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published
January 18th 2005
by Nan A. Talese
(first published 1980)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
100)
This is relatively small and informative volume on the man considered Shakespeare's forerunner. Overall? It was okay. It does highlight some very interesting facts of the era - circa 13 to 1400's. The plague was rife during those times. Give it a go if you are interested in historical reads on classic fiction writers.
Currently rereading Peter Ackroyd's great little bio of Chaucer--the man how seems to have done everything--in his life and in his works. Ackroyd's book brings you right into the heart of London in the 14th century; it's a fascinating look at an author, his city, and the transforming (then and now) English language.
A quick and enjoyable read--there's not a whole lot of extant detail to build a life of Chaucer around, but Ackroyd does a nice job mixing history, literary criticism, biography, and some conjecture in a highly engaging prose style. I'll look for others in this "Brief Lives" series.
An excellent little biography and examination of the poet and storyteller.
Terrific introduction to Chaucer's life.
Rodney Ulyate
marked it as to-read
Peter
marked it as to-read
Antonomasia
marked it as unread-used-to-own
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
biography-and-memoir
Jerry Ide
marked it as to-read
Suzanne
marked it as to-read
Sara
is currently reading it
Chas LiBretto
marked it as to-read
Emma Nicholas
added it
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Peter Ackroyd CBE is an English novelist and biographer with a particular interest in the history and culture of London.
Peter Ackroyd's mother worked in the personnel department of an engineering firm, his father having left the family home when Ackroyd was a baby. He was reading newspapers by the age of 5 and, at 9, wrote a play about Guy Fawkes. Reputedly, he first realized he was ga...more
More about Peter Ackroyd...
Peter Ackroyd's mother worked in the personnel department of an engineering firm, his father having left the family home when Ackroyd was a baby. He was reading newspapers by the age of 5 and, at 9, wrote a play about Guy Fawkes. Reputedly, he first realized he was ga...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
