Recommendations
Books Like Troilus and Criseyde
Best books to read after Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer
Readers who love Troilus and Criseyde are drawn to its combination of the greatest medieval English love poem, the psychological depth Chaucer brings to Criseyde's impossible situation, the witty and self-aware matchmaker Pandarus, and the ambiguous ending that appears to recant the very love story the poem has spent eight thousand lines building. They want works that deal with courtly love, the Trojan War's human cost, medieval romance, and Chaucer's extraordinary range.
- 1Buy
The Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer
Chaucer's other great work and the natural companion — the Knight's Tale (drawn from Boccaccio's Teseida) and the Franklin's Tale are the Canterbury Tales most directly in the world of Troilus and Criseyde; reading both works reveals the full range of Chaucer's art.
- 2Buy
Troilus and Cressida
by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare's bitter satirical retelling of the same story — where Chaucer treats the lovers with sympathy and psychological depth, Shakespeare's 'problem play' exposes the gap between heroic rhetoric and sordid reality; reading both reveals the full range of interpretations the story has generated over two centuries.
- 3Buy
The Song of Achilles
by Madeline Miller
The contemporary retelling of the Trojan War that shares Chaucer's interest in the love stories running alongside the larger conflict — Miller's focus on Achilles and Patroclus runs parallel to Chaucer's focus on Troilus and Criseyde rather than on the war; both works humanize the epic by centering the personal.
- 4Buy
The Romance of the Rose
by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun
The French allegorical poem that was the most important single influence on Chaucer's love poetry — the 13th century Rose established the conventions of dream vision, the god of Love, and the allegory of courtship that Chaucer inherits and transforms; the essential predecessor to Troilus and Criseyde.
- 5Buy
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous
The companion masterpiece of 14th century English poetry — Chaucer and the Pearl Poet are the two supreme writers of the period; Gawain's examination of what the chivalric code demands of a real human being runs parallel to Troilus's examination of what courtly love demands and costs.
- 6Buy
The Lais of Marie de France
by Marie de France
The 12th century French short narrative poems that are the ancestors of the courtly love tradition Chaucer inherits — Marie de France's lais (including Lanval, Chevrefoil, and Eliduc) are the foundational love narratives of medieval French literature; the tradition Troilus and Criseyde belongs to at its source.
- 7Buy
Il Filostrato
by Giovanni Boccaccio
Boccaccio's verse narrative that was Chaucer's primary source — comparing Boccaccio's original with Chaucer's transformation reveals exactly what Chaucer deepened, added, and changed in the characters of Criseyde and Pandarus; the essential scholarly companion to the poem.
- 8Buy
A Thousand Ships
by Natalie Haynes
The contemporary feminist retelling of the Trojan War from the women's perspectives — Haynes gives voice to Criseyde's situation from the inside, showing the impossible position of women caught in wars fought by men; complements Chaucer's sympathetic portrait of Criseyde with a 21st century feminist perspective.
More Troilus and Criseyde Resources
More Reading Recommendations
View all →Monthly Newsletter
Never miss a big release
Get the most anticipated upcoming books delivered to your inbox once a month — no spam, no filler.
Monthly only. Unsubscribe anytime.
Book links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, BookReleaseRadar earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.