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The Canterbury Tales [Blackstone]

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The Canterbury Tales [Blackstone]

By: Geoffrey Chaucer
Narrated by: Martin Jarvis, Jay Carnes, Ray Porter, John Lee, Malcolm Hillgartner, Ralph Cosham, Simon Vance
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About this listen

 At the Tabard Inn, 30 travelers of widely varying classes and occupations are gathering to make the annual pilgrimage to Becket's shrine at Canterbury. It is agreed that each traveler will tell four tales to help pass the time and that the host of the inn will judge the tales and reward the best storyteller with a free supper upon their return.

Thus we hear, translated into modern English, 20-some tales, told in the voices of knight and merchant, wife and miller, squire and nun, and many more. Some are bawdy, some spiritual, some romantic, some mysterious, some chivalrous. Between the stories, the travelers converse, joke, and argue, revealing much about their individual outlooks on life, as well as what life was like in late 14th-century England.

©2003 Gavin Menzies (P)2008 Blackstone Audio Classics Hotel

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All stars
Most relevant  
Great balance struck between not using Chaucerian English yet staying as close to it as possible whilst easy to understand for the modern reader. Excellent version, though inevitably a lot of Chaucer's subject matter is mess appealing today but I skipped through those parts on 2x speed (mainly religious lists) and slowed down to enjoy the rollicking yarns.

Great balance achieved

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I wish Goodreads allowed us a half mark, as this book is worth 4 1/2 star rating. I could not give it 5 as that belongs to the original Middle English version which I have read along side this version.

English Classic

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This is one of those books that change over time. Whilst I liked some of the tales and hated others I found the interaction of the characters very informative of attitudes of the 14th Century.

A mixed bunch of tales but good insight into past.

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I love the concept of storytelling while on a journey and Chaucer’s genius is shown in the variety of tales reflecting the range of travellers. No wonder he is still read and enjoyed 700 years on. How many of today’s authors will that be true of, I wonder?

Chaucer was a genius!

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Only for those who liked good rhyming schemes.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Canterbury Tales [Blackstone]?

The friar's tale

Any additional comments?

I want to translate all future books into rhyme.
Also, its not olde or middle English, very listenable.

A Spot o' Banter

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A Magnificent, Revelatory Achievement!

If there were just one audiobook in your library, this should be it. It is no exaggeration to say that it could transform the way all of us enjoy and understand, not just the nature of the novel, but the relative standing of Chaucer and Shakespeare, Chaucer and Dickens, Chaucer and just about any author you love and admire.

I wonder how many readers, teachers, academics even, have ever read, let alone enjoyed Chaucer's "Tale of Melibee"? Have sat back and been not just impressed but riveted by "The Knight's Tale"? Have appreciated the scope and wit of "The Monk's Tale"? I've been teaching Chaucer all my life, have never doubted he is the father of the novel, the grandfather of Shakespeare and Dickens and Kafka, but it's only now I've really glimpsed the extraordinary range, the intellectual strength, the remarkably inclusive humanity of his vision. Of course the well-known tales are all comic masterpieces: The Millers and Reeve's, Tales, the Franklin's, Pardoner's Prologue and Tale, the Clerk's and the Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale are corner stones of English Literature. But without reading, as very few of us ever have, Chaucer's major tales, the very long ones, we have been missing out in a big way. It's rather like those who love Bach on the strength of the Brandenburg Concertos but have never really got to know the Cantatas where by far his greatest music lies.

What's absolutely wonderful, revelatory, about this recording is the excitement, the deep understanding, the sense of vigour and drama the readers have for every line they read. Beautifully clear voices on the whole but above all these readers, unlike many on the lamentably miscast and under-rehearsed Penguin version, seem to have been steeped in Chaucer all their lives and passionately want to share with the Listener what they have long known and enjoyed. They take "Melibee", as it should be taken, absolutely seriously and reveal that it is a major work, perhaps the greatest Christian homily in English, worthy to compare with Boethius's "Consolation of Philosophy": which Chaucer translated and which is the cultural source of so much of his thinking, as it was of Shakespeare’s and of most great writers of the Renaissance.

What emerges from the whole recording is the remarkable range of Chaucer's reading and his infectious enthusiasm for knowledge and thinking from all traditions, classical and Biblical. His extraordinary ability to make scholarship come alive, to matter to us all. In a better world, Donald Trump would listen to this recording of "Melibee" and we would all be living in a happier place. Students of English Literature who have listened to it will never dismiss that tale again as a tedious diversion up a cul de sac. It is absolutely central to the way we read "The Canterbury Tales" as a whole.

But all the other tales are read with a similar sense of delight, engagement and appreciation. The modernisation of course loses some of the verbal energy of Chaucer's text: I hope these readers will one day give us the original middle English version. But this version is ideal for all readers, a box of delights waiting to be relished over and over again. Five stars are not enough. This is an audiobook which could transform the way we all think about Chaucer and the power of the written word!

A Magnificent, Revelatory Achievement!

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I have utterly enjoyed these wonderful tales which I never bothered to read when young. Most of them are wonderfully read. I am immediately about to start them all again to try to grasp better the story, the journey, the whole persona of each of the characters. For me, it’s a a Must Read. Don’t delay - get this version, you’ll love it. Annie

Canterbury Tales, unabridged, in modern(ish) delivery

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Not wishing to bemoan American actors. But I struggled with their narration of the tales. However, Martin Jarvis had the correct understanding of the text. Used the right tone and pace (& accent) he draws you in to the tale. Whereas, the others did not & were at times, it was difficult to understand the story being told.

Would be better if English actors only.

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I am not in the least a Chaucer scholar - partly because previously I had not managed to get very far with reading the Tales for myself. So I can only write as a novice and an amateur, but I am listening intently and enjoying the book in a multiplicity of ways. The variety of the Tales themselves, the drama and humour of the work, the way in which is it all structured; and the music of the language , which is retained in this modern translation and which does gain from being read aloud. I hesitated for some time before buying this book, thinking it might be too much for me. On the contrary, I am relishing it and am grateful to such gifted readers for bringing this very special text alive for me.

masterly reading makes this classic enjoyable

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If, like me, you have always intended to read this national treasure but been daunted by the language then the audiobook is a good option. The various narrators do an excellent job of bringing the different characters to life. Some tales are witty and interesting but I found a few others to be too preachy or long-winded for modern tastes. However, I am glad that I have finally heard the tales in full!

Olde English classic

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