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Canterbury Tales - Volume I, The Written By : Geoffrey Chaucer Narrator : Full Cast Production Published By : Select Music & Distribution Length : 3 hours 20 minutes Type : Poetry Classic Literature Dramatizations Classics Short Stories Price : $15.49 Buy Now! The Prologue The Knight's Tale The Miller's Tale The Pardoner's Tale The Merchant's Tale The Franklin's Tale Chaucer's greatest work, written towards the end of the fourteenth century, paints a brilliant picture of medieval life, society and values. The stories range from the romantic, courtly idealism of The Knight's Tale to the joyous bawdy of The Miller's; all are told with a freshness and vigour in this modern verse translation that make them a delight to hear. The Canterbury Tales, written near the end of Chaucer's life and hence towards the close of the fourteenth century, Is perhaps the greatest English literary work of the Middle Ages: yet it speaks to us today with almost undimmed clarity and relevance. Chaucer imagines a group of twenty-nine pilgrims who meet in the Tabard Inn in Southwark, intent on making the traditional journey to the martyr's shrine of St Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. Harry Bailly landlord of the Tabard, proposes that the company should entertain themselves on the road with a storytelling competition. The teller of the best tale will be rewarded with a supper at the others' expense when the travellers return to London. Chaucer never completed this elaborate scheme - each pilgrim was supposed to tell four tales, but in fact we only have twenty-four altogether - yet, with the pieces of linking narrative and the prologues to each tale, the work as a whole constitutes a marvellously varied evocation of the medieval world which also goes beyond its period to penetrate (humorously, gravely tolerantly) human nature itself. Chaucer, as a member of this company of pilgrims, presents himself with mock innocence as the admiring observer of his fellows, depicted in the General Prologue. Many of these are clearly rogues - the coarse, cheating Miller, the repulsive yet compelling Pardoner - yet in each of them Chaucer finds something human, often a sheer vitality or love of life which is irresistible: the Monk may prefer hunting to prayer, but he is after all a manly man, to be an abbot able. Perhaps only the unassuming, devoted Parson and his humbly labouring brother the Ploughman rise entirely above Chaucer's teasing irony; certainly the Parson's fellow clergy and religious officers belong to a Church riddled with gross corruption. Everyone, it seems, is on the make, in a world still recovering from the ravages of the Black Death. Other titles you may be interested in Essential Dylan Thomas, The Written By : Dylan Thomas Narrator : Full Cast Performance Published By : Select Music & Distribution Length : 5 hours Type : Classic Literature Dramatizations Poetry Classics Short Stories Price : $18.75 This unique combination of historical and new recordings celebrates Dylan Thomas as poet, writer and performer. Here are some of his greatest poems, stories and broadcasts: readings given by Thomas... More... Jack London Boxed Set Written By : Jack London Narrator : John Lee Published By : Blackstone Audio Inc Length : 11 hours Type : Classic Literature Price : $23.95 This boxed set features Jack London's thrilling classics, The Call of the Wild and White Fang. London’s adventurous nature, intuitive feeling for animal life, and superb storytelling skills have given his tales an enduring place in the annals of American literature. More... Under Milk Wood Written By : Dylan Thomas Narrator : Various Published By : BBC Audiobooks Ltd Length : 1 hour 40 minutes Type : Dramatizations Classic Literature Classics Drama British Price : $13.49 A classic BBC Radio full-cast drama of Dylan Thomas' poetic play for voices starring Richard Burton... More... Rogue's Life, A Written By : Wilkie Collins Narrator : Bernard Mayes Published By : Blackstone Audio Inc Length : 5 hours 30 minutes Type : Classic Literature Price : $39.95 $14.95 Mr. Frank Softly was sent to one of the most fashionable and famous of the great public schools. He said, “I ran away three times, and was flogged three times. I made four aristocratic connections, I learnt to play at cricket, to hate rich people. . . and to receive kicks and serious advice... More... Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Written By : Jules Verne Narrator : Frederick Davidson Published By : Blackstone Audio Inc Length : 11 hours 30 minutes Type : Classic Literature Price : $23.95 $11.50 The year 1866 was marked by a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon. For some time, sea vessels had been threatened by “an enormous thing,” a long phosphorescent object, infinitely larger and more rapid in its movements than a whale—until Captain Nemo put his submarine, the Nautilus, into... More...