So many questions surround the key figures in the English literary canon, but most books focus on one aspect of an author's life or work, or limit themselves to a single critical approach. Geoffrey Chaucer offers: *basic information on an author's life, contexts and works *the major critical issues surrounding the author's works, from the time they were written to the present *explanations of the full range of different critical views and interpretations * guides to further reading in each area.

Series editors' preface, Acknowledgements, Abbreviations and referencing, Introduction, Part I LIFE AND CONTEXTS, Part II WORK, Part III CRITICISM, Chronology, Bibliography, Index