I loved this comprehensive study of Chaucer and the medieval world he lived in. Howard uses an informal style throughout that is clear and very readable. He discusses Chaucer’s writings, the cultural background necessary to understanding them now that we’re so far distant in time, and his role at the courts of Edward III and Richard II. He provides ample documentation in endnotes I found very useful, and an excellent bibliography.

The material is developed in chronological order, presenting what Chaucer’s education and duties would have been as a page at the court of Prince Lionel and his wife Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster, what is known of his life at war in service with John of Gaunt and Prince Lionel, his return to the court of King Edward and the development of his life as courier and diplomat at home and abroad, and concluding with a description of his life in accounting jobs, working with the Wool Custom and as Clerk of the Works (in charge of maintence of all the buildings, etc., of the Royal Courts). Howard is always clear about documentary evidence, and when he is speculating or theorizing, he says so.

Along the way are excellent discussions of Chaucer’s development as a poet, paying detailed attention to how his European trips gave him the opportunity to grow more familiar with the works of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccacio. Early on, a helpful description of courtly love conventions is given, along with the French literature Chaucer would have known from his education and liife at court. Howard devotes two chapters to presenting the influence of Boccacio, not only on Chaucer, but also on the development of fiction in European literature. At appropriate points in this chronology excellent analyses and discussions of the individual poems are given, sometimes in one or more chapters. We see the development of his style toward more realism that will culminate in The Canterbury Tales. And throughout we learn that valid interpretations of Chaucer’s work depend on a reader’s carefully considering and giving appropriate weight to the facts that the 14th century was an Age of Faith and that Chaucer, like most everyone else of his time and place, was concerned foremost for the fate of his soul. Overall, this book was very informative and a pleasurable reading experience.

This study would provide useful (maybe indispensable?) background for first-time readers of Chaucer, or for anyone needing a thorough review before rereading. I think it would also be enjoyable for anyone interested in medieval Europe (focus on England, of course) in the 14th century.
5* ( )

His Life and His World are the more interesting aspects of this book. We're always at a disadvantage when the facts of Chaucer's are sparse, as far as they are currently known. Chaucer managed strenuous and highly responsible government positions at times, yet still read widely and revolutionised English literature by placing English in the front rank of literary languages.
Dr. Howard has to surmise much in reviewing Chaucer's life, but in doing so he invokes interest in his subject, and that is all to the good. He has an excellent overview of English and European history; this is so necessary because Chaucer was a member of the ruling class in London and held important commissions. His adult life coincided with the reign of Richard II.
When offering his criticism of Chaucer's oeuvre, Dr. Howard is brilliant, learned and clearly on top of his subject. Open admiration for such love and care of Chaucer's poetry and stories is one's immediate response.
Yet again, another world opened up for me on reading this absorbing biograph along with its contemporaneous historical setting.

Geoffrey Chaucer died with his greatest work, the Canterbury Tales, unfinished. Is there perhaps a slight irony in the fact that Donald R. Howard died with this major work about Chaucer unfinished?

Unfinished, but very close to done. Close enough to publish, and certainly close enough to show what it would have been like if finished. You need have no concerns about it being incomplete.

About whether it's true, now... that you have to worry about.

Howard was primarily a student of literature, and frankly, I'd be inclined to call this an historical novel rather than a biography. We have a lot of isolated facts about Chaucer (awards received, offices held, diplomatic missions undertaken, etc.), but we have little in the way of actual description of his life; we don't even actually know that the author of so many books was the same man as the fellow who fought in France (and was captured) in 1359, or who was a member of parliament thirty years later. If we want to fill in the many gaps in his life, we can only turn to inference, analogy, or deductions from his writings. It is a very uncertain process.

And that uncertainty hardly appears here. Oh, Howard expresses uncertainty about a lot of things. But mostly about the wildest speculations. Much that is inference is treated as fact, and much that is guesswork treated as inference. To someone who wants to know what is absolutely reliable, it's an uncomfortable process.

The other thing is, since Howard is so interested in literature, a very large fraction of the book is not about Chaucer but about Chaucer's writings. Of course, the writings are what survive; they are the reason we care, and Howard's comments about the writing are often better-founded than the tales about their author. But they aren't really biography.

None of which is to deny that this is a very interesting book. And most of it is probably true. But most of it has to be taken with a grain or two of salt. Like the tales of the pilgrims themselves.... ( )

This book is 502 pages long (not including chronology, appendices, reference notes, and references), and I loved it. There are lots of things that are unknown about Chaucer's life, and Howard has wonderful discussions of the possibilities. Was Chaucer's marriage happy or not? Did he ever meet Boccaccio? We don't know, and gosh, it's fun to read what Howard has to say about it. There is also an interesting discussion of how movable type changed - or created - ideas about plagiarism. And lots, lots more. You don't have to know or even care a bit about the 14th century to enjoy this book. ( )