Although Geoffrey Chaucer is the major author for Middle English studies, he often receives little notice in studies of children's literature. However, there is a fascinating relationship between Chaucer and children's interests. This book examines in detail Chaucer stories retold for children--both the texts and the illustrations, which are excellent examples of the verbal and visual storytelling that are very important in children's literature. The popularity of certain Chaucer stories, their adjustment for children, and the historical, political, educational, and social contexts of the retellings reveal Victorian and Edwardian attitudes. The author also considers how retellings of Chaucer stories contributed to the traditional view of Chaucer as the Father of English and how this view of him was developed at the turn of the twentieth century as part of an expansion of general education and English studies.

This is a copious and judicious selection from Chaucers Tales, with full notes on the history, manners, customs, and language of the fourteenth century, with marginal glossary and a literal poetical version in modern English in parallel columns with the original poetry. Six of the Canterbury Tales are thus presented, in sections of from 10 to 200 lines, mingled with prose narrative. Chaucer for Schools is issued to meet a widely-expressed want, and is especially adapted for class instruction. It may be profitably studied in connection with the maps and illustrations of Chaucer for Children.We hail with pleasure the appearance of Mrs. Haweiss Chaucer for Schools. Her account of Chaucer the Tale-teller is certainly the pleasantest, chattiest, and at the same time one of the soundest descriptions of the old master, his life and works and general surroundings, that have ever been written. The chapter cannot be too highly praised.Academy.The authoress is in such felicitous harmony with her task, that the young student, who in this way first makes acquaintance with Chaucer, may well through life ever after associate Mrs. Haweis with the rare productions of the father of English poetry.School-Board Chronicle.Unmistakably presents the best means yet provided of introducing young pupils to the study of our first great poet.Scotsman.In her Chaucer for Schools Mrs. Haweis has prepared a great assistance for boys and girls who have to make the acquaintance of the poet. Even grown people, who like their reading made easy for them, will find the book a pleasant companion.Guardian.The subject has been dealt with in such a full and comprehensive way, that the book must be commended to everyone whose study of early English poetry has been neglected.Daily Chronicle.We venture to think that this happy idea will attract to the study of Chaucer not a few children of a larger growth, who have found Chaucer to be very hard reading, even with the help of a glossary and copious notes. Mrs. Haweiss book displays throughout most excellent and patient workmanship, and it cannot fail to induce many to make themselves more fully acquainted with the writings of the father of English literature.Echo.The book is a mine of poetic beauty and most scholarly explanation, which deserves a place on the shelves of every school library.School Newspaper.For those who have yet to make the acquaintance of the sweet and quaint singer, there could not well be a better book than this. Mrs. Haweis is, of course, an enthusiast, and her enthusiasm is contagious. Her volume ought to be included in all lists of school booksat least, in schools where boys and girls are supposed to be laying the foundations of a liberal education.Literary World.Mrs. Haweis has, by her Chaucer for Schools, rendered invaluable assistance to those who are anxious to promote the study of English literature in our higher and middle-grade schools....Although this edition of Chaucer has been expressly prepared for school use, it will be of great service to many adult readers.School Guardian.CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY, W.

Chaucer for Children: A Golden Key is an adapted version of the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, the prominent English author. The book contains some of the most famous Canterbury Tales in Middle English alongside the modern translation. Additionally, the text is completed with numerous footnotes, explaining the meaning of rare words and phenomena typical of Chaucer's time.

A Chaucer for Children may seem to some an impossible story-book, but it is one which I have been encouraged to put together by noticing how quickly my own little boy learned and understood fragments of early English poetry. I believe that if they had the chance, many other children would do the same. I think that much of the construction and pronunciation of old English which seems stiff and obscure to grown up people, appears easy to children, whose crude language is in many ways its counterpart. The narrative in early English poetry is almost always very simply and clearly expressed, with the same kind of repetition of facts and names which, as every mother knows, is what children most require in story-telling. The emphasis which the final E gives to many words is another thing which helps to impress the sentences on the memory, the sense being often shorter than the sound. It seems but natural that every English child should know something of one who left so deep an impression on his age, and on the English tongue, that he has been called by Occleve Òthe finder of our fair language.Ó For in his day there was actually no national language, no national literature, English consisting of so many dialects, each having its own literature intelligible to comparatively few; and the Court and educated classes still adhering greatly to Norman-French for both speaking and writing. Chaucer, who wrote for the people, chose the best form of English, which was that spoken at Court, at a time when English was regaining supremacy over French; and the form he adopted laid the foundation of our present National Tongue.Ê

This book addresses portrayals of children in a wide array of Chaucerian works. Situated within a larger discourse on childhood, Ages of Man theories, and debates about the status of the child in the late fourteenth century, Chaucer’s literary children—from infant to adolescent—offer a means by which to hear the voices of youth not prominently treated in social history. The readings in this study urge our attention to literary children, encouraging us to think more thoroughly about the Chaucerian collection from their perspectives. Eve Salisbury argues that the child is neither missing in the late Middle Ages nor in Chaucer’s work, but is,rather, fundamental to the institutions of the time and central to the poet’s concerns.

The author of numerous books on Geoffrey Chaucer, the nineteenth-century scholar, Mary Eliza Haweis, has been largely erased from general histories of Chaucer studies. In her critical biography, Mary Flowers Braswell traces Haweis’s career, bringing her out of obscurity and placing her contributions to Chaucer scholarship in the context of those of influential Chaucerians of the period such as Frederick James Furnivall, Walford Dakin Selby, and Walter Rye. Braswell draws on extensive archival research from a broad range of late-Victorian newspapers, journals, and society papers to weave a fascinating picture of Haweis’s own life and work, which in quantity and quality rivaled that of her contemporaries. Haweis, we discover, corrected assumptions related to the Chaucer seal and texts, bringing her findings to the attention of the public in works such as Chaucer for Schools, the first textbook on the poet. Braswell also sheds light on the ways in which fashion, society, culture, art, and leisure activities intermingled with scholarship, archival recovery, museum work, editing, writing, and publishing in the late-Victorian middle and upper classes. Concluding with a discussion of Haweis’s forgotten role as head of the Chaucer section for the National Home Reading Union, Braswell’s book makes a strong case both for Haweis’s influence as a Chaucer scholar and her importance as an educator in nineteenth-century Britain and the United States.

"More than any other canonical English writer, Geoffrey Chaucer lived and worked at the centre of political life -- yet his poems are anything but conventional. Edgy, complicated, and often dark, they reflect a conflicted world, and their astonishing diversity and innovative language earned Chaucer renown as the father of English literature. Marion Turner, however, reveals him as a great European writer and thinker. To understand his accomplishment, she reconstructs in unprecedented detail the cosmopolitan world of Chaucer's adventurous life, focusing on the places and spaces that fired his imagination. Uncovering important new information about Chaucer's travels, private life, and the early circulation of his writings, this innovative biography documents a series of vivid episodes, moving from the commercial wharves of London to the frescoed chapels of Florence and the kingdom of Navarre, where Christians, Muslims, and Jews lived side by side. The narrative recounts Chaucer's experiences as a prisoner of war in France, as a father visiting his daughter's nunnery, as a member of a chaotic Parliament, and as a diplomat in Milan, where he encountered the writings of Dante and Boccaccio. At the same time, the book offers a comprehensive exploration of Chaucer's writings, taking the reader to the Troy of Troilus and Criseyde, the gardens of the dream visions, and the peripheries and thresholds of The Canterbury Tales. By exploring the places Chaucer visited, the buildings he inhabited, the books he read, and the art and objects he saw, this landmark biography tells the extraordinary story of how a wine merchant's son became the poet of The Canterbury Tales." -- Publisher's description.

The Greatest Children's Classics of All Time is a testament to the enduring appeal and diversity of children's literature. Spanning centuries and encompassing a plethora of stylesfrom the whimsical enchantments of fairy tales to the daring adventures of explorersthis collection showcases the rich tapestry of stories that have captivated young readers around the globe. It highlights not only the individual masterpieces within its pages but also the broad spectrum of themes such as courage, friendship, and the triumph of good over evil, underscoring the universal values that connect us all. The eclectic mix of authors, ranging from beloved storytellers like Lewis Carroll and Jules Verne to insightful moralists like Aesop and Hans Christian Andersen, ensures a varied reading experience that has something to offer every reader. The contributing authors and editors, hailing from diverse cultural and historical contexts, bring together an anthology that reflects the multifaceted nature of children's literature. These writers, with their unique voices and perspectives, emerge from a multitude of literary movements, including Romanticism, Victorianism, and the Golden Age of Children's Literature, creating a mosaic of narrative techniques and storytelling traditions. Their collective works, celebrated for fueling the imagination and nurturing the spirit, allow readers to embark on a journey through time and space, exploring distant lands and moral landscapes. This anthology is an essential addition to any library, offering readers the unparalleled opportunity to explore the wonders of classic children's literature in a single volume. It not only serves as a gateway to the past, allowing one to relive the magic and adventure that has enthralled children for generations, but also offers a cross-section of cultural values and lessons that remain relevant today. For educators, scholars, and young readers alike, The Greatest Children's Classics of All Time opens the door to a world of intellectual insight and fantastical escapades, inviting a new generation to engage in a dialogue with these timeless tales.