'This collection of accessible, informative essays provides students and teachers with a balance of textual analysis and cultural contexts designed to enhance the understanding of Chaucera s major and minor works ... Both serious first--time readers of Chaucer and veterans looking for credible information on more recent avenues of inquiry will find this a valuable source of information and bibliography.a Choice This work, the latest entry in Blackwella s Companions to Literature and Culture series... provides an inclusive and scholarly orientation to current theories and interpretation of Chaucera s works. Each essay... places Chaucera s texts into cultural context by examining the medieval point of view, and includes notes, references, and suggestions for further readings. The text... will serve well as a one--volume introduction for new students. It also provides access to original research and new ideas sought by graduate students and faculty. Library Journal Overall, this is useful book. providing an up--to--date survey of the state of Chaucer scholarship on a wide range of issues...it will provoke interesting and educational debates in and out of the classroom. Reference Reviews [This book] is both highly readable and rich in its diversity, a book which any Chaucerian, novice or seasoned, will often pick up simply for the pleasure of browsing[...] Every student of Chaucer, from undergraduate to emiritus professor, will want to have access to it. English Studies: A Journal of English Language and Literature