{"product_id":"chaucers-italy-by-richard-owen-9781909961838","title":"Chaucer's Italy","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn exploration of the influence of Italy and Italians on Chaucer’s life and writing.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGeoffrey Chaucer might be considered the quintessential English writer, but he drew much of his inspiration and material from Italy. In fact, without the tremendous influence of Francesco Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio (among others), the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Canterbury Tales\u003c\/i\u003e might never have assumed his place as the “father” of English literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNevertheless, Richard Owen’s \u003ci\u003eChaucer’s Italy\u003c\/i\u003e begins in London, where the poet dealt with Italian merchants in his roles as court diplomat and customs official. Next, Owen takes us, via Chaucer’s capture at the siege of Rheims, to his involvement in arranging the marriage of King Edward III’s son Lionel in Milan and his missions to Genoa and Florence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy scrutinising his encounters with Petrarch, Boccaccio, and the mercenary knight John Hawkwood—and with vividly evocative descriptions of Arezzo, Padua, Florence, Certaldo, and Milan that Chaucer would have encountered—Owen reveals the deep influence of Italy’s people and towns on Chaucer’s poems and stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMuch writing on Chaucer depicts a misleadingly parochial figure, but as Owen’s enlightening short study of Chaucer’s Italian years makes clear, the poet’s life was internationally eventful. The consequences have made the English canon what it is today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47072150487276,"sku":"9781909961838","price":43.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/372663482868.jpg?v=1765082245","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/products\/chaucers-italy-by-richard-owen-9781909961838","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}