Chaucer and His Times

The book opens with a clear‑cut guide to Chaucer’s tricky pronunciation, especially the handling of the final “e” that modern readers often overlook. By explaining when the vowel is sounded, slurred, or dropped, it invites listeners to read the poems aloud and hear the original melody that scholars like Professor Skeat preserved. Short examples from the Canterbury Tales illustrate how a simple shift in sound can change the rhythm and charm of the verse.

Beyond the linguistic details, the work delves into the hazy biography of England’s most celebrated medieval poet. It surveys the competing theories about his family’s French roots, his birth in mid‑fourteenth‑century London, and the possible influence of his father’s wine‑trade business on his vivid storytelling. While the evidence remains fragmentary, the author presents the known facts and scholarly debates in an accessible, conversational style that brings Chaucer’s world to life without revealing the later scholarly twists.