Tales of the Canterbury Pilgrims

Chaucer, Geoffrey; Darton, F. J. Harvey; Thomson, Hugh (Illust.); Furnivall, F. J. (Intro.)

Published by Wells Gardner, Darton & Co, London, 1931

About this Item

Hardcover. "Long ago, when Richard II was King, the highways of England must have been a far gayer and stranger sight than they are nowadays.on these roads, bad as they were, travelled wayfarers who appear to us now no more than the people of legends.on the way to fairyland. Yet these were after all the ordinary Englishmen of those days, living and thinking really not very differently from ourselves, though we only know of them now through books." Through the pages of this finely illustrated 1931 retelling of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, meet the pilgrims who populate the most popular work in English Literature from across 600 years, and join them once again in a story-telling contest on their quest from London to Canterbury Cathedral. The prize, as always, is a free meal at the Tabard Inn, but the feast is yoursâ "for here "The Knight's Tale" of courtly love, the Arthurian legends of "The Wife of Bath's Tale," the devilish "Friar's Tale," and many more are beautifully, bountifully, and humorously illustrated by the great Hugh Thomson (1860-1920), founder of the Cranford School of illustration and beloved pen-and-ink illustrator of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and J. M. Barrie. 8 1/8" X 6 1/8". xxiv, 365pp, plus 22 pages of publisher's ads. Presents nicely in protective archival jacket. Bound in burgundy cloth over boards, with horse-bound pilgrims in parade stamped in black across upper board and spine, both lettered in gilt. Mild wear to binding, with slight lean to spine, gentle bumping to extremities, and slight darkening to spine. Birthday gift inscription dated 1933 to front free endpaper. Binding is firm and sound. Pages are clean and unmarked. Illustrated in a frontispiece, decorative title page, and 50 illustrations, including plates and vignettes, by Hugh Thomson. This edition also includes "The Tale of Gamelyn," "The Tale of Beryn," "The Chequer of the Hoop," John Lydgate's "The Siege of Thebes," and additions by Edmund Spenser. Seller Inventory # 15140

Bibliographic Details

Title: Tales of the Canterbury Pilgrims

Publisher: Wells Gardner, Darton & Co, London

Publication Date: 1931

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very good