Why did you choose to have the main character be Gower instead of Chaucer or an original character?

Holsinger needs to change some things about history, such as a book of prophecy and a murder plot, to make his novel work. Knowing what you know about history, do you feel that Holsinger works with history well enough to create a good book while remaining historically accurate?

So far in the novel, we have learned a bit more about Chaucer’s character in A Burnable Book. Knowing what we know about his life, do you think this is an accurate picture of Chaucer? Do you think it falls short? Is it true? Explain.

Discuss the history of English and how the English language has changed through Chaucer’s time until now.

The Knight’s Tale and the Miller’s Tale are two very different stories, yet there are similarities. Compare and contrast the characters, perhaps Alisoun with Emeyle or Nicholas and Absolon with Arcite and Palamon. How are they different, the same? Do they function the same way in their separate tales? Explain.

Fortune has been a common theme so far in the Knight’s Tale and The Book of the Duchess. Look back at Theseus’s last speech which begins at Line 2987. How does Theseus’s speech relate back to Fortune, and how Fortune effects the individual? Does his speech reflect your idea of how Fortune functions in Chaucer’s works? If not, how does it challenge your idea of Fortune?