The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling

"A romp for the ages" - Vanity Fair - now with a graphic cover and deluxe packaging Renowned novelist, historian, and biographer Peter Ackroyd takes on what is arguably the greatest poem in the English language and presents it in a prose vernacular that makes it accessible to readers while preserving the spirit of the original. A mirror for medieval society, 'The Canterbury Tales' concerns a motley group of pilgrims who meet in a London inn on their way to Canterbury and agree to take part in a storytelling competition. Ackroyd's contemporary prose emphasizes the humanity of these characters - as well as explicitly rendering their bawdy humor - yet still masterfully evokes the euphonies and harmonies of Chaucer's verse.