Marion Turner - Chaucer: A European Life

This book has benefited hugely from its early readers: Anthony Bale, Elliot Kendall, and Paul Strohm, acute interpreters, kind interlocutors, willing cocktail drinkers. I also want to extend profound thanks to the careful and thoughtful anonymous readers for Princeton University Press. My editor at the Press, Ben Tate, has been the best of all possible editors, and the rest of the wonderful team at PUP, especially Hannah Paul, Debbie Tegarden, Dimitri Karetnikov, Katie Lewis and Cathy Slovensky, have provided the most supportive and vibrant environment possible. I cannot thank them enough. The British Academy awarded me a mid-career fellowship to work on this book, which allowed me invaluable time to research, write, and think, and I am deeply grateful to them for believing in my project. This book would have taken far longer without their help.

I am also very lucky to work with wonderful colleagues in Oxford, to teach inspiring students here, at Jesus College, Oriel College, and the English Faculty, and to be part of an exceptionally intelligent and kind international community. I cant thank everyone, but here are a few people to whom I am especially grateful for conversations either recent or long ago: Helen Barr, Ardis Butterfield, Chris Cannon, Rita Copeland, Isabel Davis, John Ganim, Alex Gillespie, Vincent Gillespie, Claire Harman, Hermione Lee, Laurie Maguire, Robyn Malo, Katie Murphy, Sophie Ratcliffe, Sebastian Sobecki, Emily Steiner, Helen Swift, Peter Travis, Stephanie Trigg, Dan Wakelin, and David Wallace. In the late stages of the book, Emily Dolmans provided excellent research and editorial assistance, and Tom Broughton-Willett crafted the index. I have learnt a lot from graduate students, especially Hannah Bower and Rebecca Menmuir, and the students who have worked with me on the Placing Chaucer course. Wide-ranging conversations with undergraduates too numerous to mention individually are at the heart of my working life; I feel amazed every day that I get to teach such extraordinary students.

Im also very grateful to have had the opportunity to give papers about this book at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Sussex, and Warwick; at the Medieval Academy in Atlanta; at the MLA conference in Vancouver; and at the New Chaucer Society Congresses in Reykjavik, London, and Toronto. I often speak at schools, and the opportunity to talk to young people about Chaucer is a huge privilege. It is always inspiring to discuss Chaucer with people who have only recently begun to discover his subtleties, humour, and infinite variety.

Finally, I want to thank my family. My parents, David and Sheelagh, have continued to claim interest in Chaucer, and Im very lucky to have their unwavering support. My more extended familyespecially Katie, Damon, Michael, and Ruby, my aunts Rita and Moira and their families, my Kendall family at the other side of the world, and many friends who are like family, particularly Kirstie Blair, Ned Fletcher, Jessie and Mark Flugge, Camille and Joe Mazarelo, Tim Phillips, Natalie Walker, and Rachel Wevillare essential to my life and happiness. And everything I do is built on the foundation of the three people with whom I share a home, the lights and loves of my life. Two of them have lived with this book for much of their lives, sustained only by the hope of one day attending a book-launch party featuring a Chaucer cake. Elliot, Cecilia, and Peter, this book is for you.