Professor Marion Turner, J.R.R. Tolkien Professor of English Literature and Language, recently appeared on BBC Radio 4’s popular history podcast You're Dead to Me in the episode “Geoffrey Chaucer: the medieval father of English literature".
Joining host Greg Jenner and comedian Mike Wozniak, Professor Turner explored the life and legacy of Geoffrey Chaucer, often referred to as the father of English literature. The episode delves into Chaucer’s extraordinary life in fourteenth-century England, from his upbringing as the son of a London wine merchant, through his work for the royal court, to his travels across Europe. It examines the literary influences that shaped his work, including Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. Listeners are also taken on a deep dive into The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer’s most famous work.
Professor Turner’s research focuses on Chaucer and late-medieval literature, and she has written extensively on the poet. Her publications include the award-winning biography Chaucer: A European Life (2019) and The Wife of Bath: A Biography (2023), which was named a Financial Times 'Best Summer Book,' a New Yorker 'Best Book of 2023,' and a BBC History 'Book of the Year 2023,' among other accolades. Most recently, she curated the Bodleian Library exhibition Chaucer Here and Now (December 2023–April 2024) and edited the accompanying book, Chaucer Here and Now (2023), which explores Chaucerian reception across the centuries.
You can listen to the episode You're Dead to Me – Geoffrey Chaucer: the medieval father of English literature on BBC Sounds.
