---
product_id: 1415319
title: "Peter AckroydThe Canterbury Tales: A Retelling by Peter Ackroyd (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)"
brand: "peter ackroydgeoffrey chaucerted stearn"
price: "€ 36.37"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.sk/products/1415319-peter-ackroydthe-canterbury-tales-a-retelling-by-peter-ackroyd-penguin
store_origin: SK
region: Slovakia
---

# Peter AckroydThe Canterbury Tales: A Retelling by Peter Ackroyd (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

**Brand:** peter ackroydgeoffrey chaucerted stearn
**Price:** € 36.37
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Peter AckroydThe Canterbury Tales: A Retelling by Peter Ackroyd (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by peter ackroydgeoffrey chaucerted stearn
- **How much does it cost?** € 36.37 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sk](https://www.desertcart.sk/products/1415319-peter-ackroydthe-canterbury-tales-a-retelling-by-peter-ackroyd-penguin)

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Peter AckroydThe Canterbury Tales: A Retelling by Peter Ackroyd (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Solid modern prose translation
  

*by G***G on Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2016*

Whan that Aprill with his shoures sooteThe droghte of March hath perced to the roote,And bathed every veyne in swich licourOf which vertu engendred is the flour,Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breethInspired hath in every holt and heethThe tendre croppes, and the yonge sonneHath in the Ram his halve cours yronne…Thus begins the first great English poem. “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer (circa 1343-1400) wasn’t the first poem in what we call Middle English, nor did it cause English to become the official language of the British Isles. What it did do, says author Peter Ackroyd in his modern English prose translation, was mark the emergence of English as the language that was becoming what most people spoke. The royal court still conducted its business in French, but that, too, was changing.It is a work that stopped as a work in progress. Chaucer completed the General Prologue and less than a third of the planned 120 tales, stories told by a group of pilgrims traveling to and from St. Thomas Becket’s shrine at Canterbury Cathedral. The pilgrims represent virtually all levels of society – merchants, knights, religious figures, tradesman, lawyers, doctors, and more. Chaucer didn’t confine himself to men—in fact, the Wife of Bath is one of the most memorable characters in the entire poem, with a prologue that is the longest of any of the tales.Americans are usually introduced to “The Canterbury Tales” in high school. It’s not a work for children. I read and was taught the General Prologue as a high school freshman; we read the entire work in senior English class. I attended an all-boys public high school, and no other work experienced the enthusiasm that “The Canterbury Tales” did for a class of 17-year-old boys. We read it in verse (likely the 1951 translation by Neville Coghill, still considered one of the best) and most of the class also bought a modern prose translation.Our teacher, a sweet, soft-spoken soul in her early 60s who loved English literature, was perhaps the most courageous teacher I had. To teach the tales of the Miller, the Reeve, the Friar, and the Summoner to some 30 teenage boys is, in retrospect, amazing. These four (and others) are ribald, risqué, vulgar, shocking, coarse, and wildly funny. Recently rereading the work, I laughed out loud at the crucial scene in “The Summoner’s Tale,” in which a corrupt friar experiences well-deserved revenge.What I did not know was that the manuscripts of “The Canterbury Tales” are numerous and fragmented. We do not have one completed manuscript that Chaucer left for posterity. Instead, we have fragments, with some tales revised and others left incomplete. It’s clear he was revising as he wrote. The first printed version we have was by William Caxton in 1478, and it was based upon a now-lost manuscript. (A 1985 edition of the “Tales” translated by David Wright is organized by fragments, and gives a good idea of what scholars and translators have to deal with.)It is still a remarkable work. Chaucer had one of the most varied careers imaginable—royal page, soldier, writer, customs house administrator, songwriter, landlord, diplomat, member of the king’s household, and, of course, poet, among others. Latin may have been the language of the church and French of the court, but Chaucer chose to write in English. English was on the rise, and Chaucer’s writing rose with it. And his insights and understandings of people at all levels of society likely comes from that varied and extensive career.Coghill’s 1951 translation is still in print; I saw it at a bookstore just three weeks ago. And Ackroyd’s “retelling,” as he calls it, is an excellent modern prose translation. Be forewarned: Chaucer’s Middle English might mystify us but Ackroyd’s English makes words very explicit. We can imagine why Chaucer’s songs were sung all over England during his lifetime.And it’s no wonder that Chaucer was popular with a class of 17-year-old boys.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Best version of Canterbury Tales I've read so far
  

*by R***S on Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2014*

This particular modern-day translation is delightful.  Preserving original word meanings, it manages to keep the beauty and flow of the original language, but in modern English. I was soon howling with laughter at the Wife of Bath's saucy advice on what women really want (I always admired her) and snorting at Chaucer's clever asides. Seems that Chaucer, like his female character, had insightful, modern ideas about women and their relationships with men. Every time I read Canterbury Tales I'm in awe of his genius. Also, I'm always startled to see how many old jokes (Take my wife! No, really..PLEASE take her!), sayings and ideas come from the tales.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Excellent for immersion into Chaucer
  

*by M***H on Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2011*

I was quite impressed with this book.  The pace, the story rendering and the capturing of Chaucer's humourin modern language was enlightening.  I had read Chaucer, in middle english and in various editions, butall readings were literary and thus distorted by the sainthood bestowed upon Chaucer.  Going back afterenjoying Akyroyd's rendering illuminated both the Original in Middle English and fine tuned the rosonancestherein.  Highly recommended, especially for anyone making a first foray into the tales.

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*Product available on Desertcart Slovakia*
*Store origin: SK*
*Last updated: 2026-03-03*