It is difficult to hear the stories of medieval women, but one voice rings down the ages, clear as a bell. Alison, the Wife of Bath, is Geoffrey Chaucer’s most famous creation: irrepressible, hilarious, insightful. She is the star of The Canterbury Tales with her outrageous stories and touching honesty.

An inspiration for a huge range of writers – from William Shakespeare to Margaret Atwood and Zadie Smith – she is the sparkling subject at the heart of Marion Turner’s new book, The Wife of Bath: A Biography.

In this episode Turner takes us back to 1397. We visit Chaucer’s world in London and Oxfordshire. We hear the extraordinary story of John of Gaunt and his beloved mistress Katherine Swynford. Along the way we meet some real-life Alisons. These were women who ran businesses, travelled extensively, and lived independently, including one who was mayoress of London, not once, but twice.

Marion Turner is the J.R.R. Tolkien Professor of English Literature and Language at the University of Oxford, where she is a Professorial Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall. Her books include the prize-winning biography Chaucer: A European Life.

For more, as ever, visit our website: tttpodcast.com.

Show notes

Scene One: January 1397. The English Parliament and the legitimatisation of John of Gaunt's children with Katherine Swynford.

Scene Two: End of 1397. Chaucer has been gifted a new grant of a yearly ton of wine from the King.

Scene Three: Summer. Margaret Stodeye heads off to St Paul's Cathedral to declare a vow of chastity.

Memento: Chaucer's handwritten draft of the Canterbury Tales.

People/Social

Presenter: Violet Moller

Guest: Marion Turner

Production: Maria Nolan

Podcast partner: Ace Cultural Tours

Theme music: ‘Love Token’ from the album ‘This Is Us’ By Slava and Leonard Grigoryan

Follow us on Twitter: @tttpodcast_

Or on Facebook

See where 1397 fits on our Timeline