Few more lively and memorable characters are to be found in the whole of English literature than the assembly of pilgrims mustered by Geoffrey Chaucer for his Canterbury Tales. From the chivalrous Knight and his love-lorn Squire, to the hearty Miller and the suave, dishonest Pardoner, from the dainty Prioress with her little lap dogs to the magnificent Wife of Bath: here is a vigorous portrait gallery of good men and rogues—splendid rogues—from the Middle Ages. Chaucer tells how he joined this varied company on their pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas à Becket at Canterbury, and how, to while away the weary time of the journey, each of the pilgrims agreed to tell a story for the entertainment of his companions. The stories are as varied as the people who tell them: there is the Knight's tale of courtly and romantic love, and a priest's fable of the crafty cock, Chanticleer, who outwitted the wily fox; the Wife of Bath tells a story of one of King Arthur's knights; the poor but scholarly Clerk relates the misfortunes of humble Griselda, and the Pardoner recounts what befell three revellers who set out in search of Death.

Eleanor Farjeon has retold The Canterbury Tales in modern form so that they may readily be enjoyed by young people of today, but has at the same time retained the original colour and vigour of Chaucer's masterpiece.

From the dust jacket of the 1959 edition