Prescott, a retired teacher and community leader, uses one of the Middle English poet's lesser known works to introduce general readers to his work as a whole. She has translated and transposed a selection of 2,158 lines, and recommends reading them aloud. Canadian artist Kathryn Finter a specialist in 15th-century materials, panels, and manuscript illumination contributes monochrome illustrations. There is no index. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)