Faith Simpson (Cheshire College South and West) reviews Laura Ashe's 'Early Fiction in England: From Geoffrey of Monmouth to Chaucer'

Participants in Worcester's Bookshelf project are all in year 11, 12 or 13 at UK state schools. They are asked to review the book in no more than 300 words, as well as to respond to the three prompts at the bottom of the page. Here Faith Simpson, who is studying at Cheshire College South and West, reviews Laura Ashe's book, Early Fiction in England: From Geoffrey of Monmouth to Chaucer: 

 

This book provided me with an insight into the variety of literature from the early fiction within England. Laura Ashe collects a vast range of literature and its forms, and by including brief excerpts with a synopsis you can effectively gather an understanding of a text within minutes. The context of the texts also adds to the understanding; you can see why the particular person wrote what they did, and how the narrative within the text correlates to this. I found that the further I got into the book, the greater understanding I had on a topic I haven’t studied before. I appreciated the introductions to each section for this very reason, as they gave me a foundation before I set off into reading something so new to me and I knew what I was looking for within the text. For example, before reading 'Sir Orfeo' I found it interesting that there is no known author, yet from the surrounding literature you are able to make educated guesses on its origins. The form of the translations was crucial to my understanding of Ashe’s points made within the overall introduction; the clarity greatly aided my understanding. What I particularly enjoyed about this book was that the collection of texts from the time wasn’t purely from novels, it also included poetry, and as a consequence I have a wide understanding of many forms of literature from the time. What I also appreciated from the book was the chronology and structure; as you are reading texts and synopses whilst understanding the context, you constantly become aware of the development of common themes. The chronological order allows you to pick up on the development of literature over the years, and how what the previous text included has been either lost or adapted in the more recent text.

 

Something I agreed with in this book was...

Ashe’s choice of texts to use, as they span from early 1000s all the way to 1300s and as a consequence, I gained a broad understanding of early fiction.

Something I disagreed with in this book was... 

The statement that fiction hadn’t existed in England until the twelfth century. I believe that written fiction may not have existed, but I can’t imagine a time in which people wouldn’t have created fictitious stories for themselves and others.

Something I learnt from reading the book that I didn’t know about this subject before was...

The role and use of Latin and French within fiction in England; this historical context that Ashe used to give added detail highlighted something that I hadn’t considered before – the development of language.