{"product_id":"the-life-of-the-author-geoffrey-chaucer-paperback-softback-9781119987291","title":"The Life of the Author: Geoffrey Chaucer (Paperback \/ softback) 9781119987291","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Life of the Author: Geoffrey Chaucer\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eSimone Celine Marshall (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781119987291, Wiley\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 19 March 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e144 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.6 x 14.7 x 1.3 cm, 0.204 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExplores how generations of biographers shaped, reinvented, and fabricated the life of Geoffrey Chaucer\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVery little is known with certainty about Geoffrey Chaucer’s life, yet he has long been enshrined as the “Father of English Poetry.” Over six centuries, biographers have sought to craft a version of Chaucer that meets the needs of their own time, culture, and readers. In doing so, they have often blurred the boundaries between evidence and invention. In \u003ci\u003eLife of the Author: Geoffrey Chaucer\u003c\/i\u003e, Simone Celine Marshall takes a distinctive approach that examines not just Chaucer himself, but the ways in which his life story has been repeatedly fabricated and reshaped to reflect broader social, cultural, and literary currents. By analyzing over two dozen biographies, Marshall demonstrates that each one is less a faithful record of Chaucer’s life than a mirror of its own era’s priorities and prejudices. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMarshall situates Chaucer within a 625-year tradition of biography-making, showing how the image of the poet has been reframed over time—from Renaissance humanist, to national literary figure, to contested cultural symbol. Structured both chronologically and thematically, the book traces episodes that have particularly exercised biographers, including Chaucer’s travels, his alleged authorship of \u003ci\u003eThe Testament of Love\u003c\/i\u003e, his English identity, his entanglement with accusations of rape, and even his role in colonial contexts such as New Zealand. Throughout the text, Marshall highlights how each retelling of Chaucer’s life is also a response to shifting societal concerns—about authorship, nationhood, morality, and cultural authority.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA fascinating study of how lives are written, rewritten, and continually reimagined to serve evolving generations of readers, \u003ci\u003eThe Life of the Author: Geoffrey Chaucer:\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eDraws from more than two dozen biographies of Geoffrey Chaucer, spanning from 1532 to 2019\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eExamines how biography functions not just as historical record, but as cultural and societal reflection\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eOffers fresh insights into Chaucer’s international reception, with particular attention to colonial and postcolonial contexts\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eInvestigates how issues of authorship, nationalism, morality, and gender shape portrayals of Chaucer over centuries\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eProvides a timeline of Chaucer’s known life events alongside contemporary historical and literary milestones\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Life of the Author: Geoffrey Chaucer\u003c\/i\u003e is ideal for undergraduates and postgraduates in English literature, medieval studies, and cultural history, particularly courses such as Medieval Literature, Author and Authorship Studies, and Histories of Biography within BA and MA degree programs. It is also suitable for general readers interested in Chaucer, medieval poetry, or the broader study of how literary figures are remembered and reimagined.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements vii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction: Fabricating the Life of Chaucer 1\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDefining Biography 3\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Impact of the Reader 6\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStructure of the Book 7\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter One: Chaucer and The Testament of Love 8\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter Two: Chaucer, Boccaccio and Petrarca 8\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter Three: Chaucer and Englishness 9\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter Four: Chaucer and the Church 9\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter Five: Chaucer and Rape 10\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion: Chaucer in New Zealand 10\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBiographies of Chaucer 11\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTimeline of Geoffrey Chaucer 19\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1 Chaucer and The Testament of Love 23\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Testament of Love 27\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Testament of Love Through the Centuries 28\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProving Authorship 35\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 39\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2 Chaucer, Boccaccio and Petrarca 40\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChaucer’s European Travels 45\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChaucer in Milan in 1378 52\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 54\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3 Chaucer and Englishness 55\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Birth of the Father of English Poetry 55\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Works of Geoffrey Chaucer 1532 57\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJohn Stowe and Thomas Speght 60\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 71\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4 Chaucer and the Church 72\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChaucer and the Lollards 72\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJohn Foxe’s Book of Martyrs 75\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Biographia Britannica 77\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 83\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5 Chaucer and Rape 84\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Accusation of Rape, ‘de raptu meo 85\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe 2022 Revelations 93\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 95\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion: Chaucer in New Zealand 97\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 105\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 120\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Biography: general [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Biography: general\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Biography:%20general%20%5BBG%5D%22\"\u003eBG\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52431038447896,"sku":"9781119987291","price":20.68,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781119987291.jpg?v=1784768952","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-life-of-the-author-geoffrey-chaucer-paperback-softback-9781119987291","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}