Free e-books by Geoffrey Chaucer

We offer Geoffrey Chaucer's work here for free on line reading or download in pdf and prc (Kindle / ebook reader) format - just what's needed for students searching for quotes.  

______________________________________________________________________________________

Geoffrey Chaucer is widely accepted as being one of the greatest English poets of the Middle Ages. While his exact birth date and place are not known, it is thought he was born in the London area around 1343. Chaucer was the first poet to be buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey and during his lifetime gained fame as an author, alchemist, philosopher and astronomer.

Chaucer�s father and grandfather before him were both London vintners � previous generations of his family having been merchants in Ipswich. The name Chaucer is derived from the French word �chausseur� for shoe maker. 

The Canterbury Tales contrasts strongly with other literature of the period in the natural flow of the text in the form of a direct narrative written from the perspective of each of the characters and their own personal experience of pilgrimage. The variety of stories adds richness to this text to the present day.

Chaucer's works are often grouped into a French period, followed by an Italian period and finally an English period reflecting his own travels and his immersion into the contemporary literature from each nation.

Chaucer is believed to have died of on 25 October 1400, although this cannot be confirmed, since this date comes from an engraving on his tombstone, which is known to have been put in place over one hundred years after his death.