The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer

The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, printed by William Morris at the Kelmscott Press in 1896, is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful books ever made. Morris spent years designing it, from its Gothic Chaucer type to its richly ornamented borders, initials, and frames, and his friend Edward Burne-Jones contributed 87 woodcut illustrations. Completed only months before Morris's death, the Kelmscott Chaucer was the crowning achievement of his life's work and a landmark of the Arts and Crafts movement. Fewer than 450 copies were printed, and today they are among the most treasured volumes in the world's great libraries.This facsimile edition brings Morris's masterpiece within reach of every reader, in a size meant for the lap rather than the lectern. It presents all of Chaucer's works as Morris printed them, including The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde, The Legend of Good Women, The House of Fame, The Parliament of Fowls, and the shorter poems, reproduced in color with the vermilion rubrics that grace the titles and marginal headings of the original.A highly readable introduction by scholar John T. Winterich explores the achievements of both Chaucer, the father of English poetry, whose wit and humanity still speak across six centuries; and Morris, the poet, designer, and craftsman who believed a book could be a work of art. A glossary of Middle English words helps modern readers enjoy Chaucer's language with confidence.Whether you are a lover of fine literature, a student of book design, or a collector of beautiful books, this edition offers a rare chance to read Chaucer as William Morris meant him to be read.