The Life of Geoffrey Chaucer

This important new critical biography traces in carefully considered detail what is known of Geoffrey Chaucer's personal life while exploring the fascinating relationship between the man of affairs, who made so many 'improvisations and accommodations' to ensure his own survival, and the poet. A major reexamination of England's greatest narrative poet, it is supplemented with reproductions of Chaucer portraits and other illustrations, including maps of medieval England.

List of figures and illustrations. List of Abbreviations. Introduction: Writing a life of Chaucer. 1. Beginnings (c.1340-1360). 2. Early Career (The 1360s). 3. Advances (The 1370s). 4. Fame (1380-1386). 5. Reversals, New Beginnings (1386-1391). 6. Renewal (The 1390s). Epilogue. Appendix I The Chaucer Portraits. Notes. List of Short Titles and Bibliography. Index.