Chaucer Here and Now

This book explores different interpretations of Geoffrey Chaucer's work, including wartime, postcolonial, feminist, misogynist, radical, and conservative Chaucer, and features beautiful illustrations of early manuscripts and rare editions. It shows how Chaucer's work has been adapted and responded to over the years, from fifteenth-century scribes to contemporary postcolonial writers, and explores Chaucer on film and in the present moment.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 08 December 2023
Publisher: Bodleian Library

The Geoffrey Chaucer of this book is not the Father of English Literature that you think you know. In this extensive collection of essays, you will discover a multitude of interpretations of Chaucer, including wartime Chaucer, postcolonial Chaucer, feminist Chaucer, misogynist Chaucer, radical Chaucer, and conservative Chaucer, among many others. Accompanied by captivating illustrations of early manuscripts and rare editions, Chaucer Here and Now offers a vivid portrayal of how Chaucer's work has been adapted and responded to over the centuries. From fifteenth-century scribes who completed incomplete tales to early printers who portrayed Chaucer as the Father of the Nation, to contemporary postcolonial writers like Zadie Smith, the book traverses a timeline of censorship, the creation of children's Chaucer, Protestant Chaucer, and imperial Chaucer, as well as Chaucer's global travels. It also delves into Chaucer's portrayal on film and his relevance in the present moment. Today's creative responses continue a lineage of irreverent and partial responses that can be traced back to Chaucer's earliest readers and editors, demonstrating that Chaucer remains accessible for every present moment to be remade, reworked, and reinvented.

Weight: 1116g
Dimension: 214 x 252 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781851246151