That edition was the one I had when a young woman. My father and I read it together and his delight in it is a wonderful memory. I was recently in a group where we read it in the original. Not as much fun but a good experience.

Manie thankes for helpynge me make uppe my minde to get the originall, authentick versyion! Seriously, I was undecided between that and the Coghill - but I'm going for the real deal. Cheeres!

I had to read Canterbury Tales in highschool and was put off, and never returned. After your discussion I'm going to pick up a copy the next time I'm allowed in a bookstore. Thank you, warm regards

Yeah, it's utterly inexplicable to me why Penguin Classics Deluxe went with a very free and loose "retelling" of The Canterbury Tales by Peter Ackroyd (which in and of itself is fine but not outstanding) instead of, say, Neville Coghill's faithful translation. I wish Coghil had gotten the Penguin Classics Deluxe treatment instead, because the Deluxe series is a very lovely series, beautiful look and feel at an affordable price, and Coghill makes the most sense from almost any perspective I can think of (e.g. financial, literary). As an aside, if someone likes sci-fi, Dan Simmons's Hyperion is a fascinating "take" on The Canterbury Tales.

Right now, Im reading the Canterbury tales (a selection) from Penguin Popular classics. It's written in the original chaucer's middle english language. I am enjoying his writing style. Its so intriguing.

this is such a fun tour of different versions. Thank you!

Did you like "Chaucer: A European Life" by Marion Turner?

I too would be interested on your take on Marion Turner's book.

I picked up a copy of the Riverside Chaucer late last year. I prefer it to any of the Penguin editions of Chaucer that are in my posession. One cannot go wrong with any edition of Chaucer though.

I have just ordered the Jill Mann edited version I read the Coghill in the seventies In the version you held up. I also had a copy of original text With a sepia cover which had other works in too Which I dipped into Ultimately I lent it to my mother (For a course she was doing) And never got it back.

Steve, you left us hanging! What is your favorite of the Tales, or top 3? I’ve loved this book since high school; it felt almost subversive reading it, like the adults didn’t know what they were allowing us to access. When I dipped into the original Middle English after college I found even more to love and appreciate. Thank you for sharing, as always.

Thank you for making this video. Chaucer is on my wishlist and I was having trouble deciding on which edition to get. Now I’m back off to search for the translation I want to try. Also, would you recommend reading this before The Decameron, or does it not matter?

So the dog thinks Troilus and Cressida is over-rated?

Just wanting to make sure you’ve received the latest message on Voxer about May, as well as the email I sent. 🙂