Member-only story

Chaucer, Ackroyd, and the Strangely Moving Power of Brief Lives

Raymond Chandler

·11.3k Followers· Follow

Published in Chaucer: Ackroyd S Brief Lives Peter Ackroyd

5 min read

899 View Claps

50 Respond

Save

Listen

In the year 1386, Geoffrey Chaucer, a man of letters and a servant of the English crown, sat down to write a series of short biographies of some of the most famous and influential people of his day. These biographies, which he called "The Legend of Good Women," were intended to be a celebration of the power of women and a testament to their importance in history.

Chaucer: Ackroyd's Brief Lives

by Peter Ackroyd

4.6 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	1725 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Print length	:	210 pages

Chaucer's "Legend of Good Women" was never completed, but it was a project that clearly occupied his thoughts for many years. In the years since his death, his unfinished work has been the subject of much scholarly debate and speculation. What were Chaucer's intentions for the work? What would it have looked like if he had finished it? And what can we learn from the fragments that remain?

In his new book, Brief Lives, Peter Ackroyd offers a fascinating and deeply personal interpretation of Chaucer's "Legend of Good Women." Ackroyd, one of the most acclaimed biographers of our time, brings his characteristic blend of erudition and imagination to bear on Chaucer's work, creating a portrait of the poet that is both intimate and illuminating.

Ackroyd's Brief Lives is not a traditional biography of Chaucer in the sense that it does not attempt to provide a comprehensive account of his life and work. Instead, Ackroyd focuses on a few key moments in Chaucer's life, using them as a springboard to explore the poet's inner world and the complex social and political forces that shaped his work.

One of the most striking things about Ackroyd's book is his ability to capture the strangeness and beauty of Chaucer's world. Ackroyd vividly recreates the sights, sounds, and smells of medieval England, bringing to life the people and places that Chaucer knew. He also delves deeply into Chaucer's own mind, exploring the poet's dreams, fears, and aspirations.

Through Ackroyd's eyes, we see Chaucer as a man of contradictions: a devout Christian who was also a lover of life; a brilliant poet who was also a shrewd businessman; a man who was both ambitious and self-effacing.

Ackroyd's Brief Lives is a deeply moving portrait of one of the greatest writers in the English language. It is a book that will appeal to anyone who is interested in Chaucer's work, or in the life and times of medieval England.

The Strangely Moving Power of Brief Lives

One of the things that makes Ackroyd's Brief Lives so compelling is its strangeness. Ackroyd does not shy away from the weird and wonderful aspects of Chaucer's world. He embraces the poet's love of the grotesque and the macabre, and he creates a portrait of Chaucer that is both unsettling and strangely beautiful.

Ackroyd's book is also deeply moving. He captures the loneliness and isolation that Chaucer often felt, and he gives us a glimpse of the poet's inner struggles. Through Ackroyd's eyes, we see Chaucer as a man who is both brilliant and vulnerable, and we come to understand the deep humanity that lies at the heart of his work.

Brief Lives is a book that will stay with you long after you finish it. It is a book that will make you think and feel, and it will give you a new appreciation for the work of Geoffrey Chaucer.

Peter Ackroyd's Brief Lives is a masterpiece of biography. It is a book that will appeal to anyone who is interested in Chaucer's work, or in the life and times of medieval England.

Ackroyd's book is a deeply moving portrait of one of the greatest writers in the English language. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish it.

Chaucer: Ackroyd's Brief Lives

by Peter Ackroyd

4.6 out of 5