A Man Of Parts

A happy example of fully integrated History. Draws together Cultural, Literary, Social and Political events to give a rounded picture of Chaucer and his times.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Brilliant, Unprecedented and Beautifully Read

In Chaucer, A European Life, Marion Turner sets an extremely high bar for literary history. She sticks closely to actual texts and verifiable sources (No room Mantel-style invention here). This makes the reading more fascinating not less. There's loads of details of daily life; what people wore, ate and shopped, the houses and apartments lived in . As well as detailed examination of Chaucer's poems , translations , treatises beyond just the Canterbury Tales. Chaucer wrote poetry while working at careers : soldier, diplomat, tax collector, office worker and much else. He was also at the centre of momentous events including the Great Plague, Peasants revolt , war in Europe, parliamentary assertion and the deposition of a king. This books tells it all

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Incredibly Interesting Overall

Very good, fascinating facts throughout. A moment or two of hard going late at night in the midst of a more scholarly point.
Yes some peculiar pronunciation as mentioned by previous reviewer.
Still I'm very happy with listen.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

An unsuitable book for audio

This is a scholarly work which presents Chaucer's work and life in the world in which he lived. It's far-reaching and detailed producing a multi-faceted picture of Chaucer as diplomat, traveller, politician, man of the court, lover of art and literature, father, (failed) husband - as well as of course as a poet. It's a very stimulating work full of fascinating details and insights.

All the social and political background (wars; dissension; unrest; royal battles; commerce...) is woven into Chaucer's work. Marion Turner brings fresh insights into Chaucer's work - how the striving and unrest around him is translated into metaphor of towers and enclosure; how Giotto's revolutionary perspective becomes the startlingly original images in Chaucer's poems where the reader looks down in a bird's eye view; something as simple as Pandarus's cushion which he provides for Troilus to kneel on reflects the fashions in fabrics and domestic decorations. Chaucer's diplomatic missions in today's Italy and France brought him into contact with the works of Boccaccio and Dante - and also involved a month of 25 miles a day on horseback and a crossing of the Alps.

It's a fascinating European picture with Chaucer at its heart. The only thing is that I found it totally unsuitable for audio, at least for the way I listen. It requires total concentration, preferably with a notebook, and the facility to flick back and re-read.. As it was, I listened to about 100 pages, then bought the book and started again. I had missed a lot by listening and the book took me 8 weeks to read!

As for Marion Turner's reading:she has a pleasant reading voice, but her pronunciation of French words is very odd. The book is published by Princeton and I wonder if this is a result of an American recording, if in fact it is American. Hainault, which necessarily is a word used many many times, is pronounced as an English word 'Hay-know' with no attempt at the correct pronunciation, and key middle ages words (for example prelate) are mis-pronounced.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

An excellent study of the England in Chaucer's era

It's a very comprehensive book on the politics, society, culture...
of Chaucer's England and his personal background. It enables us to have a deeper understanding of "The Canterbury Tales".

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Candidate for hard copy in your library

A great story, elegantly written, made accessible to this grateful lay reader.
The listening experience is spoilt by the poor technical quality of the recording. The sound levels and obvious editing are all over the place, which disrupts the narration.
The narration itself needs all the help it can get.
Some of the modern-day English pronunciations are “unconventional” and disrupt the rhythm. Some words would benefit from verification of the written text, especially when these are the very words that define the context from which the meaning could be derived.
Perhaps it is axiomatic (with a few notable exceptions) that however brilliant the book is, audiobooks should never be narrated by their authors.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A terrific tale of the ultimate take teller

Marion Turner reads her own work and apart from the odd sentence here or there does a fantastic job.

There’s a little academic arcanely thrown it at times - but Turner does such a good job reconstructing Chaucer’s life and milieu you will feel yourself back amongst Lancastrians and Lollards...

Highly recommended.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

The narration was painful

SUCH A SHAME - the content is great but I could not tolerate the narration. It sounded like an automation. I so wanted to listen to this. I love Chaucer and British medieval history. Such a disappointment.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!