Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London he was the son of a prosperous wine merchant and deputy to the king's butler, and his wife Agnes. He could read French, Latin, and Italian. In 1385 he lost his job and home, and moved to Kent where he was appointed as justice of the peace. He also was elected to Parliament. This was a period of great creativity for him, during which he produced most of his best poetry, among others Troilus and Cressida , based on a love story by Boccaccio. Chaucer did not begin working on The Canterbury Tales until he was in his early 40s. The book, which was left unfinished when Chaucer died, depicts a pilgrimage by some 30 people, who are going on a spring day in April to the shrine of the martyr, St. Thomas Becket. On the way they amuse themselves by telling fun tales. Among the band of pilgrims are a knight, a monk, a prioress, a plowman, a miller, a merchant, a clerk, and an oft-widowed wife from Bath. The stories are interlinked with interludes in which the characters talk with each other, revealing much about themselves.
