From Publishers Weekly
Series of brief bios are old hat by now, but perhaps only the prolific novelist/historian Ackroyd would singlehandedly undertake an entire series—on English cultural figures—himself. This slim volume is not so much an account of the life of Geoffrey Chaucer (1343?–1400) as a consideration of his role in shaping England's national identity. The poet is hailed as the "progenitor of a national style," and deft literary analysis explicates Chaucer's innovations while acknowledging the influence of other poets. (Readers will also be glad to know that an appendix provides modern translations of Chaucer's extensively quoted Middle English.) Ackroyd doesn't ignore the biographical side of the story; much is made of Chaucer's position in the royal court, which provided the financial means to live comfortably while writing his verse—and indirectly introduced him to the work of Boccaccio, one of his most significant influences. Early vivid passages discuss how Chaucer's descriptions of medieval London can still resonate with modern readers, linking the poet to the "eternal vision" that has been a central theme in nearly all of Ackroyd's work. Thus the work can serve as an effective introduction to its author as well as its subject—and this series may be more approachable for many readers than Ackroyd's weighty histories London and Albion. 21 b&w illus. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Richard West's big Chaucer (2000) is period history and literary analysis as much as biography, implicitly because the established facts about the first great English poet are so scanty. The little book that inaugurates the Ackroyd Brief Lives series, however, feels very much like a biography. Ackroyd, whose 11 novels include, most recently, The Clerkenwell Tales [BKL S 1 04], set in Chaucer's London, uses his skills as a limner of fictional characters to produce, out of what is known about the activities of the diplomatic and customs-official roles Chaucer played under Richard II, and what his writings convey about his temperament, a vibrant portrait of a great writer who was "circumspect, and reticent, to the end." That is, he was a man who looked around, because he had to watch his back in government service, and didn't put himself forward, because the conspicuous got cut down. While he looked around, of course, Chaucer observed all kinds of people, high and low, and found all kinds of books from the advanced literary cultures of the day (French and Italian)--which people and books he transmuted into his great narrative poems, the fonts at once of English poetry and English fiction. Ackroyd has set the bar very high for subsequent books in his new series. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Geoffrey Chaucer, who died in 1400, lived a surprisingly eventful life. He served with the Duke of Clarence and with Edward III, and in 1359 was taken prisoner in France and ransomed. Through his wife, Philippa, he gained the patronage of John of Gaunt, which helped him carve out a career at Court. His posts included Controller of Customs at the Port of London, Knight of the Shire for Kent, and King's Forester. He went on numerous adventurous diplomatic missions to France and Italy. Yet he was also indicted for rape, sued for debt, and captured in battle." He began to write in the 1360s, and is now known as the father of English poetry. His Troilus and Criseyde is the first example of modern English literature, and his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, the forerunner of the English novel, dominated the last part of his life.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Series of brief bios are old hat by now, but perhaps only the prolific novelist/historian Ackroyd would singlehandedly undertake an entire series-on English cultural figures-himself. This slim volume is not so much an account of the life of Geoffrey Chaucer (1343?-1400) as a consideration of his role in shaping England's national identity. The poet is hailed as the "progenitor of a national style," and deft literary analysis explicates Chaucer's innovations while acknowledging the influence of other poets. (Readers will also be glad to know that an appendix provides modern translations of Chaucer's extensively quoted Middle English.) Ackroyd doesn't ignore the biographical side of the story; much is made of Chaucer's position in the royal court, which provided the financial means to live comfortably while writing his verse-and indirectly introduced him to the work of Boccaccio, one of his most significant influences. Early vivid passages discuss how Chaucer's descriptions of medieval London can still resonate with modern readers, linking the poet to the "eternal vision" that has been a central theme in nearly all of Ackroyd's work. Thus the work can serve as an effective introduction to its author as well as its subject-and this series may be more approachable for many readers than Ackroyd's weighty histories London and Albion. 21 b&w illus. (Jan.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews