Usborne Classics Retold: The Canterbury Tales

Usborne Classics Retold

by Susanna Davidson

A simplified and shortened retelling of the Chaucer classic which remains faithful to the original Middle English text in the treatment of the story.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Travel, Religion, Historical

Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Susanna Davidson also writes as Zanna Davidson.

She joined Usborne Publishing almost straight out of university and has been writing books for them pretty much ever since. She has written about everything from dinosaurs to the Queen to Fairy Ponies and tiny monsters, small enough to fit in your pocket. She is also a mum of two boys and works from home, where she spends most of her time talking to the dog and trying not to eat too much cheese.

Reviews

[Anet 𓈒ㅤׂ 𝜗𝜚 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small hidden gem

[Elsbeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book after a visit to "The Canterbury Tales" museum in Canterbury a few weeks ago. In the museum 5 of the Tales were depicted in a very lively way. I wanted to read the stories for myself, but realized that the way Chaucer original wrote them probably wouldn't work for me. This retelling was a good way to learn more about the stories in a fun way.
The stories are a bit like fairy tales or folklore. I like them!

[Wyatt Cholack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quick read. Crazy to see both how similar, and how different, people were 600 years ago. It was a fun magnifying glass view into a different time period.

[Chelsea Hagen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and will probably read it again and again. I like that the stories were wrote over 600 years ago and they are still really great stories for this day and age.

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

At one point I plan to read the ye olde English version and this was a nice translation.

[Mark Gannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got a "modern translation" of The Canterbury Tales, and it is easy to see why, after over six hundred years, this book is still been published. Many of the tales may seem a bit tame by todays standards, but it is the characters which make this book. They are an interesting, diverse group of individuals. An excellent read.

[Mark Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally got around to reading it! Well, a cut-down version. Very accessible and friendly, and enough of a taster for reading the Coghill translation later.

[Janice Bridger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the little pictures of each of the pilgrims in this version and the language used is v accessible. However it is really just a collection of short stories- I did like the tale of the wife of Bath though which is basically that a knight has to find out what women most desire and it turns out to be liberty. The tales reflect the attitudes of the teller so some are short/rude/disjointed or boring!! Otherwise the book is a let down as Chaucer decides not to go back with the pilgrims and there is no winner of the best tale.

[Norina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prep for my own trip to Canterbury for tourist purposes. Couldn't read the old English version as it would be too much of an effort and I just wanted to know the content even though I surely missed lots of subtleties.
Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and I admire Chaucer's wit. As with all the old books that I've read, this one amazes me again of how human like we all remain even if we are apart many hundreds of years.

[Heidi Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this to have a short modernised versions of the tales for a scheme of work on story telling and for that it will do the job nicely. It’s very difficult to do many of the tales justice in a way appropriate for younger readers but I would say that this does the job reasonably well. In simplifying though some of the joy and ‘real ness’ of Chaucer’s work is lost.

[Mark Gannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is easy to see why The Canterbury Tales have lasted as long as they have. There is plenty of observational humor, short romantic stories, morality tales and some self deprecation humor. An excellent read that will no doubt last another six hundred years. Five stars.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

had a go at reading the original but it was far too much - enjoyed this retelling. not as informative about the middle ages as I would have liked though.

[Mitch Cloke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very witty. Completely pointless. Good stuff.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing, very insightful and extremely easy to digest. Especially perfect to let the young ones make acquaintance with the Canterbury Tales and Medieval literature as a whole

[Highlyeccentric · Rating 4 out of 5]

HUH. Fairly good for its target market; I have a few Questions (TM) about certain choices, which you can find here: https://twitter.com/ChaucerCommode/st...

[Laurie Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enlightening book.
Geoffery Chauser, the author and narrator, tells the tale of a group of pilgrims travelling from London to Canterbury. They meet in an inn on the night before they set off. Harry, the innkeeper, obtains agreement from each pilgrim to tell a tale to pass the time while travelling. On the journey, each pilgrim tell a story that reveals a great deal about their character.

The book gives you insight to life in the 1300's. The stories are very different to tales you here in our age. Some of the tales are about knights, alchemy or relationships between men and women.

I read the modern English version not in verse.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gem of wit and history! I feel honoured to make the pilgrimage with Geoffrey Chaucer. But the morals that each pilgrim derives from each story are as different as their diverse personalities. As always, my favourite parts of the book:

1)
"questio quid juris?" [p19]

2)
"And you'll be our judge?" I asked.
"Ah! Geoffrey," boomed Harry. "How kind of you to ask."
[p20]

A cunning way of self-appointing.

3)
(about a Knight and a Loathly Lady):
"...and from that moment on they were the happiest couple in the world, becasue they gave each other both trust and freedom." [p80]

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed some of the stories that I read in this, even though it was required for my lit class. Out of all of the ones I read, my favorite was the Wife of Baths tale. I enjoy stories of King Arthur and knights of chivalry and I loved how the man changed from being lustful and power hungry, to becoming loyal and a faithful husband. The style of Chaucer's writing is also incredibly well-done, but thank God for my interlinear translation or I would NOT understand the middle english. Overall, a very interesting read.

[Marcus Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this copy up at a charity shop, and since today was a day off from work, I dug in. It is a quick and really enjoyable read. As a previous reviewer noted, it is the characters which make this tale. I always thought that The Canterbury Tales were longer, until I noticed that the cover noted that this was a version "taken from the tales by Geoffrey Chaucer," so this is a shortened(?) version translated into modern English. Still a great read. Well worth the price I paid.

[Christopher Weinrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written is easy-to-read prose rather than verse, this is a very approachable version. The humor of the original comes through, though there are a few translations that try too hard to be modern. Overall, though, a quick and entertaining intro to Medieval English culture and morality.

[Blake Winton · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty light read, but there's no way I was going to read the original, so this seemed like a reasonable compromise.

[Slow Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must say what a treat these tales are. They may be old fashioned but when they are retold in modern language, they are still funny, Some silly, entertaining, shocking and full of wisdom.

[It's Me · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usborne made this most classic of English tales easily accessible and captured the wit and entertainment of this 14th century bestseller.

[Sarah]

Can you even rate this book? Honestly, I didn't care for the stories much. But the historical context of what this book is and what it means for English literature was reason enough to read it.