{"title":"Simone Marshall","description":"\u003cp\u003eSimone Marshall's works delve into the intimate details of remarkable lives, offering readers a compelling blend of biography and memoir. Her narratives explore personal histories with a focus on the human experiences behind well-known figures, inviting reflection on identity and legacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith a thoughtful and engaging style, Marshall brings to life stories that resonate beyond the page. Her books are perfect for those who appreciate insightful, well-crafted accounts that illuminate the complexities of individual journeys.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-life-of-the-author-geoffrey-chaucer-by-simone-marshall-9781119987291","title":"The Life of the Author: Geoffrey Chaucer","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExplores how generations of biographers shaped, reinvented, and fabricated the life of Geoffrey Chaucer\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eVery little is known with certainty about Geoffrey Chaucer’s life, yet he has long been enshrined as the “Father of English Poetry.” Over six centuries, biographers have sought to craft a version of Chaucer that meets the needs of their own time, culture, and readers. In doing so, they have often blurred the boundaries between evidence and invention. In \u003ci\u003eThe Life of the Author: Geoffrey Chaucer\u003c\/i\u003e, Simone Celine Marshall takes a distinctive approach that examines not just Chaucer himself, but the ways in which his life story has been repeatedly fabricated and reshaped to reflect broader social, cultural, and literary currents. By analysing over two dozen biographies, Marshall demonstrates that each one is less a faithful record of Chaucer’s life than a mirror of its own era’s priorities and prejudices.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMarshall situates Chaucer within a 625-year tradition of biography-making, showing how the image of the poet has been reframed over time—from Renaissance humanist, to national literary figure, to contested cultural symbol. Structured both chronologically and thematically, the book traces episodes that have particularly exercised biographers, including Chaucer’s travels, his alleged authorship of \u003ci\u003eThe Testament of Love\u003c\/i\u003e, his English identity, his entanglement with accusations of rape, and even his role in colonial contexts such as New Zealand. Throughout the text, Marshall highlights how each retelling of Chaucer’s life is also a response to shifting societal concerns—about authorship, nationhood, morality, and cultural authority.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA fascinating study of how lives are written, rewritten, and continually reimagined to serve evolving generations of readers, \u003ci\u003eThe Life of the Author: Geoffrey Chaucer\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eDraws from more than two dozen biographies of Geoffrey Chaucer, spanning from 1532 to 2019\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eExamines how biography functions not just as historical record, but as cultural and societal reflection\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eOffers fresh insights into Chaucer’s international reception, with particular attention to colonial and postcolonial contexts\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eInvestigates how issues of authorship, nationalism, morality, and gender shape portrayals of Chaucer over centuries\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eProvides a timeline of Chaucer’s known life events alongside contemporary historical and literary milestones\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Life of the Author: Geoffrey Chaucer\u003c\/i\u003e is ideal for undergraduates and postgraduates in English literature, medieval studies, and cultural history, particularly courses such as Medieval Literature, Author and Authorship Studies, and Histories of Biography within BA and MA degree programmes. It is also suitable for general readers interested in Chaucer, medieval poetry, or the broader study of how literary figures are remembered and reimagined.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47773169909996,"sku":"9781119987291","price":54.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781119987291-the-life-of-the-author-geoffrey-chaucer.jpg?v=1782184318"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/simone-marshall.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}