Chaucer: A European Life

I bought this book because I heard about it on Radio 4 where it was highly praised, and because I enjoy reading biographies and am interested in Chaucer (having studied The Canterbury Tales some years ago) it sounded just the kind of biography I would enjoy.The first Chapter was great and found it quite engaging and interesting. The reader virtually smells and hears what 14th Century London was like - it was also educational: I never realised how cosmopolitan the city was back then, and it was fascinating to read how sophisticated life was for more wealthy people. I certainly got a vivid idea of the time and space Chaucer inhabited.However from Chapter 2 onwards I struggled to keep interest. The book veers off Chaucer somewhat and describes intricate details about his contemporaries and seemingly rather drab histories involving other people - I lost track of who was who and what they were (also too many women called Blanche - Blanche was obviously a popular name in the 14th century, but I lost track of which Blanche was which). Also the author goes into great detail about 14th century people and events I have absolutely no interest in whatsoever, and the style of writing was factual and not interesting as recreational reading - it was hard going for me personally.So I’ve abandoned reading the book unfortunately, I bought the Kindle version so can’t even sell it on unfortunately, I just lost the plot with it and have not got beyond Chapter 4 (and I glossed over quite a lot of chapters 2, 3 and 4 but found it didn't improve for me).However there’s no doubt this book would be a marvellous resource for anyone seriously studying Chaucer . The author is clearly extremely knowledgeable and done enormous amounts of research, but for the lay person like myself this book is way to scholarly as a biography to read for pleasure.

I loved this biography. It shows you Chaucer in London and in places I never knew he went, in ways I never thought about before. And Marion Turner writes beautifully about Chaucer's amazing poems as well. She has an imaginative but totally convincing, modern historian's touch for biography plus a staggering ability to bring the poetry to life and clearly explain its depths. I read Chaucer at school and mainly got an idea that he was quite comic and a bit knockabout. So I've been delighted to read this book and discover how wonderful and complex Chaucer's poetry really was, within the Canterbury Tales and in poem after poem that I had no idea about and which Turner makes vivid and fascinating. You never feel she's dumbing down but I could follow everything with no scholarly background. And the idea of organising everything around different spaces in Chaucer's life (and mind) works superbly. I was always looking forward to reading chapters on places like the Tower and the Thames, but who knew that you could also write an exciting chapter in a book about a medieval poet on the Milky Way?!Hugely recommended. From politicking worthy of The Wire to the biggest ideas you can think of, there's something surprising here for everyone.

Cleverly organised around the spaces and places in which Chaucer lived, the author illuminates Chaucer's life through these contexts and shows how his experiences and his reading informed his writing. Turner also uses Chaucer's life to animate our understanding of 14th century London and its links to the rest of England, and Europe. Absorbing, engaging, and academically sound. An outstanding book.

This book illuminates the history of the modern European world. A great book to be read and reread.

Leaving aside the sotto voce and anachronistic effort to position GC as some form of proto-Lib Dem remain voter, there is a great deal to admire in this book. But Lord, it needs editing! At one point we are treated to the word « text » three times in one line; at another, four times in four lines; the same adjective is repeated twice in three lines in different contexts. Less exegesis and more focus on the historical context might have made this a shorter and better book. It’s important nonetheless; but, much like Jordan Peterson’s « 12 rules... » it is overlong and suffers from having been given too much support by the publishing team. Could have used more friendly criticism after the first draft, in short.

I enjoyed reading this particular Chaucer and recommend it as a good read. I would in a perfect world have wished to see more concerning the religious goings on of the times.However that might well have marred what is already a very good book.

A superb study of Chaucer - totally enlightening. I have been teaching Chaucer for decades and this has already changed how I think about his life and work. Original.

this is one of the poorest biographies I have read. the authors claim to have written it with a new concept in mind isa complete flop. It is laced with long words , poor grammar and a haze which obscures this great poet's personality.