The Canterbury Tales
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The Canterbury Tales
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Narrated by:
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Philip Madoc
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Edward de Souza
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By:
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Geoffrey Chaucer
About this listen
Chaucer's greatest work, written towards the end of the fourteenth century, paints a brilliant picture of medieval life, society and values. The stories range from the romantic, courtly idealism of "The Knight's Tale" to the joyous bawdy of the Miller's; all are told with a freshness and vigor in this modern verse translation that make them a delight to hear.
Download the accompanying reference guide.(P)1995 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd,; ©1995 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Editorial reviews
The five tales (not including the Prologue) of this production include a good mix of the stately and the satirical in Chaucer's masterpiece. Classical actor Edward de Souza delivers the "Knight's Tale" with appropriate nobility, while Anthony Donovan injects levity into the bawdy "Miller's Tale." In a similar pairing of opposites, the "Merchant's Tale" and the "Franklin's Tale" present contrasting views on marriage, though it might have been nice to include one of the tales narrated by women. Nonetheless, all six narrators are sensitive to the rhythm and rhyme of the translation, and the interludes of medieval music also add a splash of flavor.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Falstaff brooks no rebuttal.
- By Darwin8u on 02-06-20
By: Harold Bloom
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Tales from Shakespeare
- The Lambs' Tales (Puffin Classics)
- By: Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb, William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming, Nigel Davenport, Andrew Sachs, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
A perfect introduction for all ages to the breadth and beauty of Shakespeare's work, Tales from Shakespearehas become a classic work in its own right. The tales bring vividly alive the power of Hamlet and Macbeth, the fun of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the drama of The Tempest. Blending detailed narrative with original dialogue and poetic language, they fully convey the wit, wisdom, and imagination of Shakespeare's magnificent plays.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not all of the stories
- By GPH on 08-22-18
By: Charles Lamb, and others
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The Ecclesiastical History of the English People
- By: The Venerable Bede
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
The Ecclesiastical History of the English People was written in Latin by the Venerable Bede (673-735), a Benedictine monk living in Northumbria, an important Christian centre in the eighth century. It is a remarkable document, tracing, in general, early Anglo-Saxon history, and in particular, as the title proclaims, the growth and establishment of Christianity against the backdrop of the political life.
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4 out of 5 stars
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good story
- By Henry Harrity on 04-21-20
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Narrated by: Terry Jones
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 729
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 611
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 609
A collection of three medieval English poems, translated by Tolkien for the modern-day reader and containing romance, tragedy, love, sex and honour.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An absolute delight!
- By Shannon Slee on 07-15-18
By: J. R. R. Tolkien
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Don Quixote
- Translated by Edith Grossman
- By: Edith Grossman - translator, Miguel de Cervantes
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 39 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,297
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 5,691
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,672
Sixteenth-century Spanish gentleman Don Quixote, fed by his own delusional fantasies, takes to the road in search of chivalrous adventures. But his quest leads to more trouble than triumph. At once humorous, romantic, and sad, Don Quixote is a literary landmark. This fresh edition, by award-winning translator Edith Grossman, brings the tale to life as never before.
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5 out of 5 stars
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My Fourth Try at an Audible Quixote
- By James on 12-24-12
By: Edith Grossman - translator, and others
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Shakespeare for Children
- By: Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
Introduce your children to the magic of Shakespeare with these 20 favorite tales. Although simplified, these lively stories don't underestimate young readers; they keep the complexity, twists of plot, and turns of fate found in the originals.
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1 out of 5 stars
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NOT unabridged
- By Erica on 11-06-07
By: Charles Lamb, and others
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Samson Agonistes
- By: John Milton
- Narrated by: David de Keyser, Philip Madoc, Matthew Morgan, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 51 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 60
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
Samson Agonistes, the 'dramatic poem' by John Milton, was published in 1671, three years before the poet's death. Written in the form of a Greek tragedy, with the Chorus commenting on the action, it follows the biblical story of the blind Samson as he wreaks his revenge on the Philistines who have imprisoned him. A powerful subject, with a personal resonance for the blind Milton, it is a perfect work for the medium of audiobook where poetry and drama can be balanced equally.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Unbelievable
- By Anonymous User on 11-06-20
By: John Milton
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Le Morte D'Arthur
- By: Sir Thomas Malory
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 37 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 237
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 207
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 207
To the modern eye, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table have many similarities to our own contemporary super-heroes. Equipped with magical powers, enchanted swords, super-strength, and countless villains to take on, they protect the weak and innocent and adhere to their own code of honor. Comparing Batman, Superman, and Captain America to Sir Launcelot, Sir Tristram, and Sir Galahad isn't a huge leap of the imagination.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This is my go-to audio version of Malory
- By Arthurian Tapestry on 03-16-19
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The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Keith Moore, Toby Leonard Moore, Colin McPhillamy, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 69
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
Author Peter Ackroyd has won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Whitbread Novel of the Year, and the Guardian Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s immortal work, this retelling of The Canterbury Tales follows a party of travelers as they tell stories amongst themselves about love and chivalry, saints and legends, travel and adventure. Through allegory, satire, and humor, the tales help pass the time during their journey.
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5 out of 5 stars
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WOW
- By Mitchell Drimmer on 02-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
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The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
- By: James Hogg
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny, Nick McArdle
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Story4 out of 5 stars 62
A psychological thriller before its time, James Hogg’s Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, published in 1824, takes us back to the world of 18th-century Scotland, into a mind haunted by religious obsession, and driven to commit murder. The events are told from several different viewpoints, so that truth and reality appear to dissolve in this disturbing story of the dark legacy of Calvinist doctrine, and how it led one man to madness.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A gripping story
- By fred greene on 04-19-18
By: James Hogg
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Gargantua and Pantagruel
- By: François Rabelais
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 34 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4 out of 5 stars 52
Here is a grotesque and carnivalesque collection of exuberant, fantastical stories that takes us from the ancient world through to the European Renaissance. At the heart of these tall tales are the giant Gargantua and his equally seismic son, Pantagruel. Containing magical adventures, maniacal punning, slapstick humor, erudite allusions, and just about any bodily function one can think of, here is quite possibly the zaniest, most risqué book ever written.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The king of all the narrators
- By amazon on 02-13-20
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The Plays of Sophocles
- Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone
- By: Sophocles
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
Sophocles was born at Colonus, near Athens in about 496 BC and is considered to be one of the premier playwrights of Greek tragedy. His stories may have been filled with strife, but Sophocles himself was prosperous and came from a good family. It is said that he was handsome, wealthy, and a highly respected citizen of Athens. During his life, he wrote over 120 plays and was instrumental in how plays would eventually be performed, including the addition of stage props.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Bad Dialogue
- By Zoe Olvera on 08-12-18
By: Sophocles
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Medea
- By: Euripides
- Narrated by: Jonathan Waters
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The plot centers on the actions of Medea, a former princess of the "barbarian" kingdom of Colchis, and the wife of Jason; she finds her position in the Greek world threatened as Jason leaves her for a Greek princess of Corinth. Medea takes vengeance on Jason by murdering Jason's new wife as well as her own children, after which she escapes to Athens to start a new life.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great Narrator makes this story work
- By cosmitron on 08-02-18
By: Euripides
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The Knight's Tale
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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The Knight's Tale of medieval wars and chivalry is the first tale told to the pilgrims as they set out to Canterbury. It concerns Theseus, returning from fighting at Thebes, and two brother knights Palamon and Arcite, imprisoned but yearning for their loves. But the real hero of this recording is Richard Bebb who, with the help of Professor Derek Brewer, the leading expert on Chaucerian pronunciation, make the original Middle English not only comprehensible to the modern ear, but exciting.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 18
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 16
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In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer created one of the great touchstones of English literature, a masterly collection of chivalric romances, moral allegories and low farce. A story-telling competition between a group of pilgrims from all walks of life is the occasion for a series of tales that range from the Knight's account of courtly love and the ebullient Wife of Bath's Arthurian legend, to the ribald anecdotes of the Miller and the Cook.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Modern language retained rhyme structure.
- By Craig L. Seasholes on 11-01-24
By: Geoffrey Chaucer, and others
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The General Prologue and The Physician's Tale
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
The Canterbury Tales, written near the end of Chaucer's life and hence towards the close of the 14th century, is perhaps the greatest English literary work of the Middle Ages: yet it speaks to us today with almost undimmed clarity and relevance.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Workmanlike reading in clear Middle English
- By Celia on 09-14-08
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales II
- Modern English Verse Translation
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- Narrated by: Philip Madoc, Frances Jeater, John Rowe, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9
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Four more delightful tales from one of the most entertaining storytellers of all time. Though writing in the thirteenth century, Chaucer’s wit and observation comes down undiminished through the ages, especially in this accessible modern verse translation. The stories vary considerably from the uproarious Wife of Bath’s Tale, promoting the power of women to the sober account of patient Griselda in the Clerk’s Tale.
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales III
- Modern English Verse Translation
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer, Frank Ernest Hill - translator
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- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 4
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a collection of narratives written between 1387 and 1400, tells of a group of 30 people from all layers of society who pass the time along their pilgrimage to Canterbury by telling stories to one another, their interaction mediated (at times) by the affable host - Chaucer himself. Naxos AudioBooks’ third volume presents the tales of six people, here in an unabridged modern verse translation (by Frank Ernest Hill, 1935).
By: Geoffrey Chaucer, and others
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The Pardoner's Tale
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Richard Bebb
- Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Three tales from The Canterbury Tales, read in the original Middle English by Richard Bebb under the direction of Britain's foremost Chaucer scholar, Derek Brewer.
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4 out of 5 stars
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great fun
- By Dorothea on 04-11-08
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Knight's Tale
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Richard Bebb
- Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins
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-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Story4 out of 5 stars 11
The Knight's Tale of medieval wars and chivalry is the first tale told to the pilgrims as they set out to Canterbury. It concerns Theseus, returning from fighting at Thebes, and two brother knights Palamon and Arcite, imprisoned but yearning for their loves. But the real hero of this recording is Richard Bebb who, with the help of Professor Derek Brewer, the leading expert on Chaucerian pronunciation, make the original Middle English not only comprehensible to the modern ear, but exciting.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Great recording
- By Kotzer on 06-25-19
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
-
The Canterbury Tales
- Penguin Classics
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer, Nevill Coghill (Translation)
- Narrated by: Lesley Manville, Daniel Weyman, Derek Jacobi, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 16
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer created one of the great touchstones of English literature, a masterly collection of chivalric romances, moral allegories and low farce. A story-telling competition between a group of pilgrims from all walks of life is the occasion for a series of tales that range from the Knight's account of courtly love and the ebullient Wife of Bath's Arthurian legend, to the ribald anecdotes of the Miller and the Cook.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Modern language retained rhyme structure.
- By Craig L. Seasholes on 11-01-24
By: Geoffrey Chaucer, and others
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The General Prologue and The Physician's Tale
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Richard Bebb, Philip Madoc, Michael Maloney
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
The Canterbury Tales, written near the end of Chaucer's life and hence towards the close of the 14th century, is perhaps the greatest English literary work of the Middle Ages: yet it speaks to us today with almost undimmed clarity and relevance.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Workmanlike reading in clear Middle English
- By Celia on 09-14-08
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
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The Canterbury Tales II
- Modern English Verse Translation
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Philip Madoc, Frances Jeater, John Rowe, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
Four more delightful tales from one of the most entertaining storytellers of all time. Though writing in the thirteenth century, Chaucer’s wit and observation comes down undiminished through the ages, especially in this accessible modern verse translation. The stories vary considerably from the uproarious Wife of Bath’s Tale, promoting the power of women to the sober account of patient Griselda in the Clerk’s Tale.
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
-
The Canterbury Tales III
- Modern English Verse Translation
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer, Frank Ernest Hill - translator
- Narrated by: Timothy West, Charles Kay, Stephen Tompkinson, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a collection of narratives written between 1387 and 1400, tells of a group of 30 people from all layers of society who pass the time along their pilgrimage to Canterbury by telling stories to one another, their interaction mediated (at times) by the affable host - Chaucer himself. Naxos AudioBooks’ third volume presents the tales of six people, here in an unabridged modern verse translation (by Frank Ernest Hill, 1935).
By: Geoffrey Chaucer, and others
-
The Pardoner's Tale
- By: Geoffrey Chaucer
- Narrated by: Richard Bebb
- Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
Three tales from The Canterbury Tales, read in the original Middle English by Richard Bebb under the direction of Britain's foremost Chaucer scholar, Derek Brewer.
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4 out of 5 stars
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great fun
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What listeners say about The Canterbury Tales
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Tad Davis
- 10-28-22
Abridged
Well translated and beautifully read. As they’ve done with some of their other titles, like the Sherlock Holmes stories, Naxos has chopped up and rearranged the Tales to fit across multiple audiobooks. I have no problem with that, but I do have a problem with the other thing they did: significantly abridge some of the selections. The Prologue, for example, omits the following characters from Chaucer with nary a note or comment: the Yeoman, the Friar, the Cleric, the Lawyer, the Cook, the Physician, the Plowman, the Manciple, and the Reeve. In other words, you’re only getting a fragment of the prologue. That’s the only reason I gave it three stars. Verse, narration, and sound quality are top notch. Why did they cripple their own presentation this way?
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