The tales of English history have captured our imaginations and inspired some of our greatest classics. Characters from history like Geoffrey Chaucer, William Caxton, Thomas More, William Tyndale, Sir Francis Drake, and Queen Elizabeth are prominent in the study of English literature. In this entertaining collection of tales, Robert Lacey offers the perfect interdisciplinary resource for history buffs, researchers, casual readers, and students of literature.
A Journey Down the Road to Canterbury...
The collection of tales begins with a telling of Geoffrey Chaucer’s pilgrimage to Canterbury--the perfect place for the reader to begin. We are transported back in time. Like Chaucer, Lacey is a storyteller, "offering to entertain the company with rhyming tales of his own." His brief exploration of Chaucer and those bawdy "Canterbury Tales" starts us off on our journey through the themes that will run through the rest of the book, as the English language spreads and writers take up the tales of history to refashion them into fictions for the masses. Along the way, we search for heroes "to inspire and comfort us" as we attempt to make some sense of the world and "how things should be."We know that Johannes Gutenberg was the inventor of the first known printing press circa 1450. Not long after Gutenberg invented the printing press (c. 1450), William Caxton, a collector of rare books, printed the first book in English, "History of Troy," in 1474. He once wrote, "My pen is worn, mine hand heavy, my eye even dimmed." So, it's no wonder the printing press so intrigued him.
Caxton's printing press would allow him to publish a French-English dictionary, a translation of Aesop's fables, popular romances, an encyclopedia, and the ever-popular "The Canterbury Tales." The printing press began to offer new ideas to enlighten the reading public with access to literature that was never really possible in previous times. As writers "sharpen their words," the readers can "start freeing their minds."
Caxton's printing press would allow him to publish a French-English dictionary, a translation of Aesop's fables, popular romances, an encyclopedia, and the ever-popular "The Canterbury Tales." The printing press began to offer new ideas to enlighten the reading public with access to literature that was never really possible in previous times. As writers "sharpen their words," the readers can "start freeing their minds."
Illusion & Reality
Just as the printing press was able to help readers open their minds to the possibilities, William Shakespeare (and other writers) picked up the tales of history and reshaped them to great dramatic effect. As he focused on historical figures like Richard III, he "gave birth to one of the most exquisitely chilling villains of English drama." In many dramatic aspects, Lacey compares the dramas of Shakespeare and others to "TV programme makers of today, churning out soap operas, thrillers, comedies and even multi-part series."In exploring the new form of the soliloquy, Shakespeare gave us those famous lines: "To be, or not to be -- that is the question..." In the end, Lacey draws upon this idea to explore these tales of history. He says, "All things were possible... Old ideas were questioned. New ideas were explored." It was a time of transformation.
