Customer Reviews

The Clerkenwell Tales

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Peter Ackroyd draws on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to tell a tale of suspense and intrigue in late-14th century London. The characters are all Chaucer's, but Ackroyd chooses to display them in a much different light.

In the 14th century, there was much dissention in the church. The advent of the Black Death earlier in the century had changed people's belief systems. While most of England remained Catholic, there were many people who wanted to break away from the Church. One of these groups was the Lollards, declared heretics for their liberal views on religion. In this book, there is a group of people who want to rock the foundations of the church to its core, and the burning of churches in London is ascribed to the Lollards. The fictional story also includes the mad prophesies of a nun called Clarice.

Like the Canterbury Tales, the Clerkenwell Tales have a structure, though the vignettes are in a different order than the original Tales. Ackroyd does a great job of discussing each character in great detail, adding on to what we know of the characters from Chaucer. While Ackroyd does not stick with the genres of the Canterbury Tales (ie fabliau, romance, etc), he does give his reader a peak at another aspect of medieval English life: the mystery plays, or the stories of the Bible as performed by the members of the town's trade guilds. Ackroyd does a fantastic job of pulling bits and peieces of medieval English life together in one coherent whole.

the author has created a delightful, pensive, historical fiction whose genesis is Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales." This 213-page opus is recommended to all medievalists, early-renaissance lectors and avid readers of English history. If one enjoys "The Canterbury Tales" one should find pleasant satisfaction in this delicious re-creation.

It's 1399; do you know where your Chaucer is? Ackroyd borrows both form and characters but puts them to different tasks. Who knew (I guess I should have) that the Puritan concept (also Presbyterian) of predestination actually had its roots in an intense debate within The Church in the 13th and 14th centuries. Wonderfully written and enjoyable. E.g., Part of the secret tunnels that connected the Clerkenwell cloister to the priory of St. John of Jerusalem now can be seen in the basement of the Marx Memorial Library at 37a Clerkenwell Green, London. Who says history doesn't have a sense of humor?

While the connections to Chaucer's _Canterbury Tales_ are sometimes tenuous, this is a compelling read, full of the accurate historical detail which is Ackroyd's forte'.

The author displays such thorough knowledge of customs, culture and language of 1399 London as to place the reader directly into the midst of the superstition, bad medicine, medieval law and class struggle during a time when the king Richard II is being overthrown. Religious political forces are at work to frighten the citizenry and further the overthrow. Common folk are caught up or nearly missed as daily lives are written of in the format of the Canterbury Tales (but easier to read, although it is in the English of the period). There is murder, double crossing, simple folk, master deceivers and a touched nun who maybe speaking from God or the Devil.
Entertaining. Certainly excellent for someone with an interest in medieval times and life, London, British history, or murder and political intrigue. At 211 pages or so an easy and satisfying read. After reading this I am inclined to read more of Ackroyd's work.

Beautifully written - an interesting tale and portrait of London based on the Canterbury Tales set against a backdroop of religious machinations. Worth the read and entetaining.

Frankly, I'm not sure why this book received such good reviews in the press with lots of comparisons to Canterbury Tales. The only similarities I could detect are the re-use of the time period, the re-use of many of the character types (including an homage to their names such as "The Wife of Bath"), and the re-use of the interwoven short stories motif.

The reality is that the underlying story tying them all together is weak - none of the characters are going anywhere together, they all just happen to live in and around one medieval town and so bump into one another. The underlying "whodunit" is unlikely to hold your interest. If you want better - and I mean head-and-shoulders above better - check out Catherynne Valente's book, The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden (and good luck trying to put that down - Valente has written one addictive set of interwoven stories).

That said, Ackroyd does have some good tales and descriptions that rescue The Clerkenwell Tales from being something to completely pass on. "The Merchant's Tale" - and what befalls Radulf Strago, his wife and his apprentice (you learn throughout the book) - is a nice mixture of tragedy and humor. And Ackroyd's descriptions of medieval town life and culture are downright disturbing. It's a wonder anyone in medieval Europe lived past their 20's or 30's. Certainly you can easily see how something like the Black Plague was able to destroy so much so quickly in medieval Europe. The ignorance and naivety of even basic cause-and-effect is astonishing. And Ackroyd captures it all brilliantly.

Thus, if you're an aficionado of the medieval period (and if you're familiar with the Gies' Life in a Medieval Village book) Ackroyd's The Clerkenwell Tales should be on your reading list.

If you're looking for a great set of fun, intriguing, wonderfully written and beautifully interwoven stories, I'd recommend you check out Valente's The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden before reading The Clerkenwell Tales. (Of course, in hindsight, maybe Valente ruined me for being able to appreciate Ackroyd's Clerkenwell ....)

To say I enjoyed this book is an understatement. I devoured it. The plot is tightly wound with sub-plots and counter-plots and counter-counter-plots. The setting and the characters are rich and detailed and ring true to the period. Without a whole lot of lecturing, Ackroyd gives us an overview of the connections and interplay of the church and state in 14th century England. Don't miss this one.

I would only recommend this book to students of the 14th or 15th century. The plot is ponderous and the characters un-engaging. The atmosphere of the Middle Ages seems well drawn and is the best part of the book. After reading of certain "medical" remedies it is a wonder the human race even survived.

I know this isn't the worst book I've ever read but it may be the most annoying. I can't imagine why Ackroyd wrote this book.

I don't care to find an answer to the mystery at the heart of the book because I don't care about any of the characters in the book.

The book is a silly waste of the reader's time and the author's effort.

Ackroyd should have written an historical essay on London in the Middle Ages and not foist his copious knowledge onto such a silly and witless plot.

I give it two stars only because of the local colour and fabulous vocabulary of old English words and terms.