The Wife of Bath

by Vera Chapman

190 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Vera Chapman, also known as Vera Ivy May Fogerty or, in The Tolkien Society, as Belladonna Took. She founded The Tolkien Society, and also wrote a number of psudeo-historical and Arthurian books.

She was born in Bournemouth, England on the 8 May 1898 and lived in South Africa until she went to Oxford where she was one of the first woman to matriculate as a full member of Oxford University. She founded the first Tolkien Society of which she was secretary. She persuaded J R R Tolkien to become the society's honorary president. She wrote her first novel in 1975 and continued writing until her death in 1996.

Reviews

[Venetia Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five husbands,five sons, multiple pilgrimages and multiple lovers, and a guest appearance by the 'father of English literature' - it's a lot to fit into such a small book, and I'm not sure Chapman succeeds. As the title suggests, The Wife of Bath resurrects Geoffrey Chaucer's original Canterbury Tales character, the bawdy and outspoken Alison. Chapman has certainly done her homework. Practically all details from the Wife's Prologue are woven inventively in, although very little from her original Tale is touched upon. Chapman creates a convincing framework for her story, but was far too hasty in rushing us through it! There were moments of genuine pathos during her first marriage and widowhood, yet for the most part Chapman failed to engage empathy or emotion. Even the frequent 'naughty bits' are brushed over with decorum, transforming what had the makings of erotica into a novel unlikely to offend the most prudish.

[Antoinette]

An interesting look at one of the characters from the Canterbury Tales. She is a fascinating woman with lots of spunk and adventures.

[Isabella Buckley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very heavily feminist book - a little bit too much choice feminism for me, but it’s interesting to see these views being held by someone from a century ago.