Chaucer Here and Now

Marion Turner

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English

Bodleian Library
01 February 2024

A fascinating and authoritative collection of essays examining the varied adaptations of and responses to Chaucer’s work.

The Geoffrey Chaucer of this book is not the Father of English Literature that you think you know. In this wide-ranging collection of essays you will find wartime Chaucer, postcolonial Chaucer, feminist Chaucer, misogynist Chaucer, radical Chaucer and conservative Chaucer, among many other interpretations.

Featuring beautiful illustrations of early manuscripts and rare editions, Chaucer Here and Now gives a picture of how varied adaptations of and responses to his work have been, from fifteenth- century scribes who finished off incomplete tales, through early printers who constructed Chaucer as the Father of the Nation, to contemporary postcolonial writers such as Zadie Smith. The book moves through years of censorship, the creation of children’s Chaucer, Protestant Chaucer and imperial Chaucer — and the travels of Chaucer all around the world. It also explores Chaucer on film and Chaucer in the present moment.

Today’s creative responses follow in a line of irreverent, partial responses that we can trace back to Chaucer’s very first readers and editors, showing that Chaucer is available for every here and now to remake, rework and reinvent.

‘Accessible and ambitious, Chaucer Here and Now enriched and inspired me as a reader and a writer. It will thrill Chaucer aficionados and bring his works to a diverse new audience.’ — Patience Agbabi

Edited by: Marion Turner
Imprint: Bodleian Library
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 244mm, Width: 207mm,
ISBN: 9781851246151
ISBN 10: 1851246150
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 01 February 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Marion Turner holds the J.R.R. Tolkien Chair of English Literature and Language at the University of Oxford. Her recent books include Chaucer: A European Life (2019) and The Wife of Bath: A Biography (2023).

Reviews for Chaucer Here and Now

Aficionados will be thrilled by Chaucer Here and Now, which contains gorgeous illustrations of early manuscripts and rare editions. * The Independent * This impressive book ends with a look at Chaucer in the digital age, and how, in the 21st century, “Chaucer is also finding his way into new media”. * The Independent *