Poet and diplomat Geoffrey Chaucer, newly returned from a delicate mission to Florence on behalf of Edward III, is despatched to sort out a home-grown problem in the Devon seaport of Dartmouth. Geoffrey must leave his family in London and travel west, expecting to solve the theft of the cargo of a Genoese ship with comparative ease. Chaucer and his companions are lodging with a wealthy doctor of physic in his fine house overlooking the water. But there is deep hostility in the port town between citizens and sailors -- accusations and daggers fly. There are tensions in the house as well, and murder occurs soon after their arrival when one of the occupants is done to death in the herb garden. Geoffrey investigates the death and its possible connection to the theft. Meanwhile, Philippa Chaucer, staying in the Palace of Savoy, is warned of a conspiracy against Katherine -- her sister and the mistress to John of Gaunt, now the most powerful man in England after the king. Philippa once saved Katherine's life during an outbreak of plague when they were children. Will she again be called on to protect her sister from her equally dangerous enemies at court?

This book is an attempt to discover the origins and significance of the General Prologue-to the Canterbury Tales. The interest of such an inquiry is many-sided. On the one hand, it throws light on the question of whether `life' or 'literature' was Chaucer's model in this work, on the relationship between Chaucer's twenty-odd pilgrims and the structure of medieval society, and on the role of their `estate' in determining the elements of which Chaucer composes their portraits. On the other hand, it makes suggestions about the ways in which Chaucer convinces us of the individuality of his pilgrims, about the nature of his irony, and the kind of moral standards implicit in the Prologue. This book suggests that Chaucer is ironically substituting for the traditional moral view of social structure a vision of a world where morality becomes as specialised to the individual as his work-life.

Historians on Chaucer brings together 25 experts in the history of fourteenth-century England to discuss one of the most famous works of Middle English literature--Geoffrey Chaucer's 'General Prologue' to the Canterbury Tales--in relation to the economic change, social issues, and religious controversies of the period.

It is 1370, right in the middle of the Anglo-French conflict, the Hundred Years War. In danger of losing the Aquitaine territory, England sends Geoffrey Chaucer, protege of the king's son, to France. As a poet on a diplomatic mission, Chaucer must persuade one of the most important noblemen of the region to remain loyal to England's king. But Henri, Comte de Guyac, whose wife Chaucer had previously fallen in love with when he was held prisoner by Henri, is not exactly neutral in his feelings for Chaucer. Wondering how he will feel when he sees Rosamund, the Comte's wife, Chaucer reaches de Guyac's castle and is greeted by turmoil. His mission is further complicated when Henri is killed during a boar hunt. Chaucer soon realizes the Comte's death is no hunting accident and that he must solve the murder before returning home. Enemies and suspects abound, from a troupe of travelling players to factions within the castle itself. Chaucer finds himself in the midst of a brightly colorful puzzle that turns him into a fugitive in a foreign country, unsure who his friends and enemies really are."

Fisher's work is a vivid, lively, and readable translation of the most famous work of England's premier medieval poet. Preserving Chaucer's rhyme and meter and faithfully articulating his poetic voice, Fisher makes Chaucer's tales accessible to a contemporary ear.