Chaucer

A European Life

By: Marion Turner

Narrated by: Marion Turner

A groundbreaking biography that recreates the cosmopolitan world in which a wine merchant's son became one of the most celebrated of all English poets.

More than any other canonical English writer, Geoffrey Chaucer lived and worked at the center of political life - yet his poems are anything but conventional. Edgy, complicated, and often dark, they reflect a conflicted world, and their astonishing diversity and innovative language earned Chaucer renown as the father of English literature. Marion Turner, however, reveals him as a great European writer and thinker. To understand his accomplishment, she reconstructs in unprecedented detail the cosmopolitan world of Chaucer's adventurous life, focusing on the places and spaces that fired his imagination.

Uncovering important new information about Chaucer's travels, private life, and the early circulation of his writings, this innovative biography documents a series of vivid episodes, moving from the commercial wharves of London to the frescoed chapels of Florence and the kingdom of Navarre, where Christians, Muslims, and Jews lived side by side. The narrative recounts Chaucer's experiences as a prisoner of war in France, as a father visiting his daughter's nunnery, as a member of a chaotic Parliament, and as a diplomat in Milan, where he encountered the writings of Dante and Boccaccio. At the same time, the book offers a comprehensive exploration of Chaucer's writings, taking the listener to the Troy of Troilus and Criseyde, the gardens of the dream visions, and the peripheries and thresholds of The Canterbury Tales.

By exploring the places Chaucer visited, the buildings he inhabited, the books he read, and the art and objects he saw, this landmark biography tells the extraordinary story of how a wine merchant's son became the poet of The Canterbury Tales.

©2019 Princeton University Press (P)2019 Recorded Books

Not a typical biography

While this book is an amazing history covering the time period of Chaucer’s life, I would categorize it more as a history centered around Chaucer as opposed to a biography. Though I feel that I learned a ton about the period; there are a lot of names and dates that get thrown out at you and I think having familiarity with world events in the 1300’s would be helpful. I also understand why she organized by places, but I was very unused to a non-linear timeline and kept trying to remember who was alive, dead, etc. as years are talked about with relevance, not time order.

Fantastic in its depth and breadth!

Impressive work that illuminates Geoffrey Chaucer’s experiences and how his writing and ideas were shaped.

Chaucer’s Genius in Context and Continuum

I appreciate the author’s deep understanding of Chaucer’s multifaceted genius, well woven with the story of his fascinating life. A brilliant biography!

Understanding Chaucer and His Writings

“Chaucer: A European Life” was an in-depth and detailed excursion into the life and times of Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the English language’s most famous authors. Marion Turner examines, in close detail, the writings down to the multiple meaning of words being used, the political environment, and general conditions of the times. The book is a valuable reference to understand Chaucer and the words he has left for us to read, understand, and enjoy. Experienced as an AUDIO book.

Amazing scholarship - less so narration

Why do authors insist on reading their own books? This would have been so much better, and easier to comprehend in the hands (or voice) of any of a number of seasoned audiobook readers. I persevered but what a slog.