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The Road to Canterbury
One of a series of top-quality fiction for schools, this is a collection of retellings of some of Chaucer's stories and character sketches in 'Canterbury Tales'.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published November 2, 1981
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About the author
Ian Serraillier
86 books96 followersIan Serraillier was a British novelist and poet. He was also appreciated by children for being a storyteller retelling legends from Rome, Greece and England. Serraillier was best known for his children's books, especially The Silver Sword (1956), a wartime adventure story which was adapted for television by the BBC in 1957 and again in 1971.
He was born in London, the eldest of four children. His father died as a result of the 1918 flu pandemic when he was only six years old. He was educated at Brighton College, and took his degree at St Edmund Hall, Oxford and became an English teacher. He taught at Wycliffe College in Gloucestershire from 1936 to 1939; at Dudley Grammar School in Worcestershire from 1939 to 1946; and at Midhurst Grammar School in West Sussex from 1946 to 1961. As a Quaker, he was granted conscientious objector status in World War II.
In 1946 his first children’s novel was published. It was followed by several more adventure stories of treasure and spies. His best known work, The Silver Sword, was published in 1956 and has become a classic, bringing to life the story of four refugee children. Three of the children are siblings: Ruth, Edek and Bronia. Jan is another of the many Warsaw war orphans who somehow had met their father, and then fainted near the bombed out basement which served as home for the siblings, and was taken in by them. The four joined together in their search for the siblings' parents in the chaos of Europe immediately after the Second World War. In the United States the book was published under the title Escape from Warsaw.
As well as children’s novels and poetry, Serraillier produced his own retellings of classic tales in prose and verse, including Beowulf, Chaucer and Greek myths. Together with his wife, Anne Margaret Rogers, he founded the New Windmill Series in 1948, published by Heinemann Educational Books, which set out to provide inexpensive editions of good stories. He continued as co-editor of the series until the onset of Alzheimer's disease in the early 1990s. The illness finally contributed towards his death in November 1994 at the age of 82.
He was born in London, the eldest of four children. His father died as a result of the 1918 flu pandemic when he was only six years old. He was educated at Brighton College, and took his degree at St Edmund Hall, Oxford and became an English teacher. He taught at Wycliffe College in Gloucestershire from 1936 to 1939; at Dudley Grammar School in Worcestershire from 1939 to 1946; and at Midhurst Grammar School in West Sussex from 1946 to 1961. As a Quaker, he was granted conscientious objector status in World War II.
In 1946 his first children’s novel was published. It was followed by several more adventure stories of treasure and spies. His best known work, The Silver Sword, was published in 1956 and has become a classic, bringing to life the story of four refugee children. Three of the children are siblings: Ruth, Edek and Bronia. Jan is another of the many Warsaw war orphans who somehow had met their father, and then fainted near the bombed out basement which served as home for the siblings, and was taken in by them. The four joined together in their search for the siblings' parents in the chaos of Europe immediately after the Second World War. In the United States the book was published under the title Escape from Warsaw.
As well as children’s novels and poetry, Serraillier produced his own retellings of classic tales in prose and verse, including Beowulf, Chaucer and Greek myths. Together with his wife, Anne Margaret Rogers, he founded the New Windmill Series in 1948, published by Heinemann Educational Books, which set out to provide inexpensive editions of good stories. He continued as co-editor of the series until the onset of Alzheimer's disease in the early 1990s. The illness finally contributed towards his death in November 1994 at the age of 82.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 1, 2013
As with 'The Enchanted Island', Serraillier attempts to make age-old classics accessible and appealing to children or teenagers and those who are not at all accustomed to the tales represented.
Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' are fundamental to the study of English literature, so Serraillier's purpose in this case is admirable. He chose nine tales which I think were an ideal choice; 1)'Prisoners of War' ('The Knight's Tale'), 2)'The Cock and the Fox' ('The Nun's Priest's Tale'), 3)'Patient Griselda' ('The Scholar's Tale'), 4)'A Hundred-Franc Loan' ('The Sea Captain's Tale'), 5)'The Wild Waves' ('The Judge's Tale'), 6)'The Black Rocks of Brittany' ('The Franklin's Tale'), 7)'The Queen's Riddle' ('The Wife of Bath's Tale'), 8)'The White Crow' ('The Steward's Tale'), 9)'In Search of Death' ('The Pardoner's Tale').
All of these tales are re-written in a thoroughly appealing manner (prose form) while maintaining Chaucer's poetic genius in the descriptions of the pilgrims. There are also two introductions, one on Geoffrey Chaucer himself and another to 'The Canterbury Tales', and, as a concluding chapter, more information about the pilgrims and their tales (though they are very brief and to the point).
I would also like to draw attention to the brilliant wood engravings illustrations by John Lawrence. I hope that such an edition would not be bought by scholastic institutions alone as it is absolutely recommended on my behalf to parents wishing to acquaint their children to Chaucer's monumental works in the history of literature without necessarily 'exposing' them to the 'rude parts' of the tales.
Of course, nothing beats reading 'The Canterbury Tales' themselves, and this book never pretends to be a substitute for that. Chaucer was never an 'easy read', even if one does endeavour to read a good translation. So this work, although admittedly very simplistic, is a worthwhile purchase.
Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' are fundamental to the study of English literature, so Serraillier's purpose in this case is admirable. He chose nine tales which I think were an ideal choice; 1)'Prisoners of War' ('The Knight's Tale'), 2)'The Cock and the Fox' ('The Nun's Priest's Tale'), 3)'Patient Griselda' ('The Scholar's Tale'), 4)'A Hundred-Franc Loan' ('The Sea Captain's Tale'), 5)'The Wild Waves' ('The Judge's Tale'), 6)'The Black Rocks of Brittany' ('The Franklin's Tale'), 7)'The Queen's Riddle' ('The Wife of Bath's Tale'), 8)'The White Crow' ('The Steward's Tale'), 9)'In Search of Death' ('The Pardoner's Tale').
All of these tales are re-written in a thoroughly appealing manner (prose form) while maintaining Chaucer's poetic genius in the descriptions of the pilgrims. There are also two introductions, one on Geoffrey Chaucer himself and another to 'The Canterbury Tales', and, as a concluding chapter, more information about the pilgrims and their tales (though they are very brief and to the point).
I would also like to draw attention to the brilliant wood engravings illustrations by John Lawrence. I hope that such an edition would not be bought by scholastic institutions alone as it is absolutely recommended on my behalf to parents wishing to acquaint their children to Chaucer's monumental works in the history of literature without necessarily 'exposing' them to the 'rude parts' of the tales.
Of course, nothing beats reading 'The Canterbury Tales' themselves, and this book never pretends to be a substitute for that. Chaucer was never an 'easy read', even if one does endeavour to read a good translation. So this work, although admittedly very simplistic, is a worthwhile purchase.
May 15, 2021
This book is a very special one, it is about a group of pilgrims on a journey, and along that journey, they would tell these unique stories that suited their personality's my personal favourite is the wild waves(narrated by the Judge) it shows his raw approach to life and sensibility. My least favourite story is the Queen's riddle(narrated by the wife of bath's)it is about a man who raped a woman and was put on trial, it is very naive and the fact that he got a happy ending disturbs me. But n summery its a quick jolly read
November 23, 2016
This book is a re-telling of some of the famous Canterbury Tales. My favourite was the Pardoner's tale, the story of Death. Three brothers are at an inn one night when they hear that a man has been stabbed in the back by someone called Death. They decide to set out to slay him.
On their way, they come across a pile of treasure beneath a tree. The youngest brother runs to town to collect some food and three bottles of wine, whilst the others plot to murder him. When he returns, the youngest brother poisons two bottles of wine and leaves one alone. He plans to give the other brothers poison and keep all the treasure for himself. Unfortunately, things don't go to plan. One man accidentally knocks the bottles over, and when he puts them back again, no one knows which is which. The two older brothers murder the youngest, and then randomly pick a bottle. Both bottles were poisoned, and in the end Death got them all for their greediness.
On their way, they come across a pile of treasure beneath a tree. The youngest brother runs to town to collect some food and three bottles of wine, whilst the others plot to murder him. When he returns, the youngest brother poisons two bottles of wine and leaves one alone. He plans to give the other brothers poison and keep all the treasure for himself. Unfortunately, things don't go to plan. One man accidentally knocks the bottles over, and when he puts them back again, no one knows which is which. The two older brothers murder the youngest, and then randomly pick a bottle. Both bottles were poisoned, and in the end Death got them all for their greediness.
April 9, 2014
A simplified version of 9 tales from Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' intended for non-academic children who may better appreciate real literature with the hard bits removed! So,no gristle or stringy-tendons here...just the meat & turnips of the most entertaining tales...in modern language...with fine,if small, wood engravings in medieval style by John Lawrence. I remembered my own confrontation with the real Chaucerian tales at A-level in 1972-74...the set text...The Franklin's Tale! I always enjoyed hearing Mr McDowell(one of my 2 English A-level masters!...the other the uniquely-gifted Dr.Jan Pigott!)... reading aloud in Middle-English,as if 'to the manner born'! I really liked this edition from Ian Serrallier's oeuvre of school textbooks from 1979.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews