--- product_id: 62533870 title: "The Canterbury Tales (Wordsworth Poetry Library)" price: "63.30 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/62533870-the-canterbury-tales-wordsworth-poetry-library store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # Scholarly introductions & analysis Original Middle English text Extensive explanatory footnotes The Canterbury Tales (Wordsworth Poetry Library) **Price:** 63.30 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📚 Unlock the timeless wit of Chaucer — your passport to medieval England’s storytelling elite! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Canterbury Tales (Wordsworth Poetry Library) - **How much does it cost?** 63.30 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/62533870-the-canterbury-tales-wordsworth-poetry-library) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Cultural Time Capsule:** Explore 14th-century England’s society, humor, and storytelling like never before. - • **Guided Reading Made Easy:** Parallel translations and footnotes decode archaic language without breaking flow. - • **Scholarly Insight Included:** Expert introductions and questions deepen your understanding and spark discussion. - • **Authentic Medieval Experience:** Dive into Chaucer’s original Middle English for a true literary journey. - • **Complete & Affordable Masterpiece:** All tales in one edition, rivaling pricier Oxford and Penguin versions. ## Overview The Canterbury Tales (Wordsworth Poetry Library) offers the complete collection of Geoffrey Chaucer’s iconic stories in original Middle English, enhanced with parallel translations, detailed footnotes, and scholarly introductions. This edition provides an accessible yet authentic medieval literary experience, perfect for students and enthusiasts seeking deep cultural insight at an exceptional value. ## Description During his life, Geoffrey Chaucer (born c.1340) was courtier, diplomat, revenue collector, administrator, negotiator, overseer of building projects, landowner and knight of the shire. He was servant, retainer, husband, friend and father, but is now mainly known as a poet and ‘the father of English literature’, a postion to which he was raised by other writers in the generation after his death. It was Boccaccio’s Decameron which inspired Chaucer, in the 1390s, to begin work on The Canterbury Tales , which was still unfinished at his death in October 1400. It tells the story of a group of 30 pilgrims who meet at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, on the south bank of the Thames opposite the city of London, and travel together to visit the then famous shrine of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury cathedral. The tavern host, who accompanies them, suggests that they amuse one another along the way by telling stories, with the best storyteller awarded a meal in the tavern (paid for by all the others) on their return. The stories told by the pilgrims range from bawdy comedies through saints’ lives and moral tracts to courtly romances, always delivered with a generous helping of Chaucer’s own sly wit and ironic humour. Although basing his characters on the stereotypes of ‘estates satire’, Chaucer succeeds in his aim of producing an overview of his times and their culture, for posterity, in the manner of Italian, proto-Renaissance, writers. This transcription and edition is taken from British Library MS Harley 7334, produced within ten years of Chaucer’s death. The on-page notes and glosses aim to enable readers with little or no previous experience of medieva Review: The best complete Chaucer out there - This is an excellent edition and a complete must given the price. Here you get Chaucer in the original Middle English (the only way to enjoy him in my opinion) but with extensive parallel translations of obscure words along with explanatory footnotes. The book also contains informative introductions to each of the tales by Chaucer scholar Lesley Coote of Hull University along with extensive further reading lists and questions on the text to encourage deeper analysis of the text. Such scholarship used to be the preserve of the much more expensive Oxford and Penguin editions so it is no wonder that Wordsworth is causing such concern amongst those publishers. This book is ideal for a student or for anyone who wants to be enlightened into the fascinating world of Chaucer. Review: A nice translation - This is a great version of the complete Canterbury tales. I found the use of the explanatory notes was well balanced and were used just enough to be helpful without being a distraction. The further I got into the book, the easier it became to read the Medieval English text. Highly recommend this version. ## Features - New Store Stock ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 53,981 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 184 in Classical, Early & Medieval Poetry 2,803 in Fiction Classics (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 130 Reviews | ## Images ![The Canterbury Tales (Wordsworth Poetry Library) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91G9HEcFzAL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The best complete Chaucer out there *by M***B on 22 April 2013* This is an excellent edition and a complete must given the price. Here you get Chaucer in the original Middle English (the only way to enjoy him in my opinion) but with extensive parallel translations of obscure words along with explanatory footnotes. The book also contains informative introductions to each of the tales by Chaucer scholar Lesley Coote of Hull University along with extensive further reading lists and questions on the text to encourage deeper analysis of the text. Such scholarship used to be the preserve of the much more expensive Oxford and Penguin editions so it is no wonder that Wordsworth is causing such concern amongst those publishers. This book is ideal for a student or for anyone who wants to be enlightened into the fascinating world of Chaucer. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A nice translation *by A***1 on 14 November 2021* This is a great version of the complete Canterbury tales. I found the use of the explanatory notes was well balanced and were used just enough to be helpful without being a distraction. The further I got into the book, the easier it became to read the Medieval English text. Highly recommend this version. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good *by Y***C on 9 September 2019* Paper quality is cheap --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/62533870-the-canterbury-tales-wordsworth-poetry-library](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/62533870-the-canterbury-tales-wordsworth-poetry-library) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-08-21*