This edition incorporates a broader representation of the most significant recent scholarship and criticism, reflecting current research into Chaucer's historical and social context and developments in the interpretation of Chaucer's presentation of women.<BR>The book is the most comprehensive single-volume guide to the Tales yet produced, bringing together a wide range of disparate material and providing a readable commentary on all aspects of the work. It combines the comprehensive coverage of a reference book with the coherence of a critical account and, since its first publication in 1989, has established itself as a standard work on the Tales.