The Clerkenwell Tales
11 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by Fellraven from Redditch, Worcestershire United Kingdom on Saturday, June 19, 2004
Acquired on a 3 for 2 offer.
Journal Entry 2 by Fellraven from Redditch, Worcestershire United Kingdom on Wednesday, August 11, 2004
This is the first novel I've read by Ackroyd, though I'm familiar with his more famous work "Hawksmoor" which has been adapted as radio drama.
"The Clerkenwell Tales" is a relatively short work, some 205 pages and a few pages of explanatory notes, but it manages to pack a lot of action in nevertheless. Essentially a political thriller set against the turbulent events of the end of Richard II's reign in 1399, it weaves threads of heresy, murder and intrigue into a coherent whole.
One novel (ahem) factor is Ackroyd's shameless hijacking of many, if not most, of the characters familiar as the pilgrims of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" who here are fleshed out and given specific identities as the players in the action and on whom, chapter by chapter, the story focuses in turn.
This book was almost worth an 8 but was reluctantly marked down a notch due to several moments in which Ackroyd's hand is clumsy and intrusive in commenting on the action or implications for the plot of some development or other. It remains an easy and pleasing read however and whiles away a few hours.
"The Clerkenwell Tales" is a relatively short work, some 205 pages and a few pages of explanatory notes, but it manages to pack a lot of action in nevertheless. Essentially a political thriller set against the turbulent events of the end of Richard II's reign in 1399, it weaves threads of heresy, murder and intrigue into a coherent whole.
One novel (ahem) factor is Ackroyd's shameless hijacking of many, if not most, of the characters familiar as the pilgrims of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" who here are fleshed out and given specific identities as the players in the action and on whom, chapter by chapter, the story focuses in turn.
This book was almost worth an 8 but was reluctantly marked down a notch due to several moments in which Ackroyd's hand is clumsy and intrusive in commenting on the action or implications for the plot of some development or other. It remains an easy and pleasing read however and whiles away a few hours.
Journal Entry 3 by londonmet from -- Somewhere in London 🤷‍♀️ , Greater London United Kingdom on Monday, August 16, 2004
This has arrived already. Great! Now I have to leave it alone till I've finished my dissertation - must...not...read...interesting...book...
Journal Entry 4 by londonmet from -- Somewhere in London 🤷‍♀️ , Greater London United Kingdom on Saturday, September 11, 2004
This was an interesting read. Fun to see how he's cast each of the Canterbury Pilgrims, and fascinating to learn of the terrorist heretics and the secret societies. As I work within the City of London, the names of streets and places resonated with me - I was forever going "hey! I know Fetter Lane..." etc. Overall, this was clever rather than engrossing - sometimes Ackroyd displays his research a bit too ostentatiously - but the breadth of his knowledge and allusions is impressive.
Now, who do I pass this on to next?
Now, who do I pass this on to next?
Journal Entry 5 by Candyfloss from Leeds, West Yorkshire United Kingdom on Friday, September 24, 2004
Just to let you all know the book arrived safely this morning. Looks like it will be a great read!
Journal Entry 6 by Fellraven from Redditch, Worcestershire United Kingdom on Saturday, December 18, 2004
Open to anyone anywhere. Please read and forward within 4 weeks of receipt and be prepared to post it to another country if necessary.
1.Londonmet (London, UK)
2.Candyfloss (West Yorkshire, UK)
3.Silkina (Leipzig, Germany)
4.-aoirghe- (Bonn, Germany)
5.Koalabare (London, UK)
6.Kislany (Lefkosia, Cyprus)
7.Ramya (NJ, USA)
8.labmomnm (Albuquerque, NM, USA)
9.dospescados (chittenango, NY, USA)
10.d-o-m (South Yorkshire, UK)
11. Fellraven <--- Back Home (3 August 2006)
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11. Fellraven <--- Back Home (3 August 2006)
Dear all,
My sincere apologies for the delay in sending this book on. I was tardy enough in reading it when Fellraven first contacted me to check I was OK and I promised to send the book straight on. Unfortunately, in quick succession we had a bereavement in the family and I became quite ill. As a result it really fell down my list of priorities and remained buried beneath my "to do" pile on my desk and the PMs remained unanswered in my unread inbox.
I can only apologise. I have contacted Silkina today and will post the book to her airmail tomorrow.
Happy new year to you all. I'm hoping 2005 will be a better one.
Candyfloss.
My sincere apologies for the delay in sending this book on. I was tardy enough in reading it when Fellraven first contacted me to check I was OK and I promised to send the book straight on. Unfortunately, in quick succession we had a bereavement in the family and I became quite ill. As a result it really fell down my list of priorities and remained buried beneath my "to do" pile on my desk and the PMs remained unanswered in my unread inbox.
I can only apologise. I have contacted Silkina today and will post the book to her airmail tomorrow.
Happy new year to you all. I'm hoping 2005 will be a better one.
Candyfloss.
Got this in the mail last week and have added it to the top of my TBR pile!
I loved this book! I found that it captures the middle ages unusually well, or maybe it's just Ackroyd's particular version of the middle ages, but anyway, a very intense reading experience. I feel like I learnt a lot.
Sending on to the next reader now ...
Sending on to the next reader now ...
The book has just arrived. It may take some time for reading as I've got 2 1/2 bookrings to finish first.
I love the book and I guess I will have to buy a copy for my personal collection... I've read some of Ackroyd's other books (Hawksmoor, The House of Doctor Dee, and now and again I read a little in his biography of London), and I certainly like his style. Then he describes one of the periods and one of the political turning points of english history I'm most interested in. But mostly I liked his fleshing out of Chaucer's characters and combining them in a different story, his putting them in a sort of mediaevel thriller. One of my favourite chapters is the Shipman's Tale describing the Shipman's journey on the river meeting/seeing all the other characters of the novel - it has a little Joycean touch to it.
And I (as being so much interested in the history of the Plantagenets) was delighted in finding a postcard of Tewkesbury Abbey as a book-mark...
Thank you, Fellraven, for this ring, I'm looking forward to the next Ackroyd!
The book will travel on this weekend, I've already got Koalabare's address as Kislany asked to be skipped for the time being.
And I (as being so much interested in the history of the Plantagenets) was delighted in finding a postcard of Tewkesbury Abbey as a book-mark...
Thank you, Fellraven, for this ring, I'm looking forward to the next Ackroyd!
The book will travel on this weekend, I've already got Koalabare's address as Kislany asked to be skipped for the time being.
Thanks -aoirghe- for sending it on and Fellraven for organising!
I have another bookring ahead of this, but since I'm on holiday next week, I should be able to get this read fairly quickly.
I have another bookring ahead of this, but since I'm on holiday next week, I should be able to get this read fairly quickly.
Well, rereading the comments from earlier members of the bookring, everything has been said that I would want to!
Enjoyable and cleverly written - I especially liked the dialogue, which had a genuinely medieval ring to it. As with Londonmet, I was familiar with some of the streets, so kept reaching for the A-Z to work out roughly where the rest were!
Intriguing, and one I'll be rereading if I come across another copy. Thanks again Fellraven!
20/05/05 - This is packed and ready to go to Kislany - but unfortunately I have been laid low by a stomach bug :( However, I'll get this to the post office as soon as I can.
21/05/05 - Stomach bug in retreat, so have taken restorative stroll to the post office. Book is now on its way to Kislany!
Enjoyable and cleverly written - I especially liked the dialogue, which had a genuinely medieval ring to it. As with Londonmet, I was familiar with some of the streets, so kept reaching for the A-Z to work out roughly where the rest were!
Intriguing, and one I'll be rereading if I come across another copy. Thanks again Fellraven!
20/05/05 - This is packed and ready to go to Kislany - but unfortunately I have been laid low by a stomach bug :( However, I'll get this to the post office as soon as I can.
21/05/05 - Stomach bug in retreat, so have taken restorative stroll to the post office. Book is now on its way to Kislany!
Thank you, got it today. Hope to read it soon.
*note to self to check with Fellraven before sending the book further*
*note to self to check with Fellraven before sending the book further*
I couldn't get into the book. I guess when I asked to be dropped, I knew that I wouldn't, as in the last few months my tastes in books have changed dramatically. For some reason though I got persuaded to receive it anyway. Oh well, what one doesn't do to keep the ring from being stuck with an unreliable person *grins*. Now I'm waiting for Ramya's address to send it all the way across the pond.
Got an address from Ramya. Sending tomorrow the book by surface mail.
Released 18 yrs ago (7/4/2005 UTC) at
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Enjoy :)
Enjoy :)
I received this book in the mail on Saturday. I have a few rings ahead of this, but I expect this should be a quick read once I begin. Thanks, Fellraven, for lending, and Kislany, for sending!
I found the end notes quite interesting, but the rest of the book was slow going for me, and I ended up only skimming it. Thanks for the chance, though, to read it -- and my apologoes for having kept it for so long!
This book will be going out to labmomnm in the next few days.
This book will be going out to labmomnm in the next few days.
"A few days" has stretched to a month -- I'm sorry! This book went off in the mail this morning. Thanks, Fellraven, for sharing it.
Arrived in the mail over the New Year's Holiday...thanks!
13 January 2006: Well, I couldn't get into this. Maybe because I'd read such glowing reviews when it first came out so I was expecting some incredibly wonderful read...I don't know. The plot sounded interesting enough on a technical level, but I read the first few chapters and realized that I really didn't care what happened, so I bailed. Thanks for the chance to give it a try!!
21 January 2006 - mailed to dospescados
13 January 2006: Well, I couldn't get into this. Maybe because I'd read such glowing reviews when it first came out so I was expecting some incredibly wonderful read...I don't know. The plot sounded interesting enough on a technical level, but I read the first few chapters and realized that I really didn't care what happened, so I bailed. Thanks for the chance to give it a try!!
21 January 2006 - mailed to dospescados
I'm starting this tonight and PMing d-o-m for an address.
Well, I've also given up on it after about 4-5 chapters. It just hasn't caught me at all. I think I've also been really picky about books lately cos I've been giving up on books left and right for the past few weeks. Off to find my next literary fix and to mail this to d-o-m....
12 May 2006. One of three bookrings received yesterday. I'm not the fastest reader and don't get much time to read and I am not sure in what order I am going to read the three. Luckily I'm last in the ring so...
9 July 2006. Surprisingly good. I've onlyread one other book by this author. That was hs excellent diography of Charles Dickens. I'm not sure why my expectations were so low, but I was pleasantly surprised at such a good succint story.
Thnks for sharing Fellraven.
9 July 2006. Surprisingly good. I've onlyread one other book by this author. That was hs excellent diography of Charles Dickens. I'm not sure why my expectations were so low, but I was pleasantly surprised at such a good succint story.
Thnks for sharing Fellraven.
Journal Entry 26 by Fellraven from Redditch, Worcestershire United Kingdom on Sunday, August 6, 2006
Received safely back home the other day. Thanks to all who read it and passed it on to the next reader.
I plan to quickly re-read it before wild releasing it to continue its journey.
I plan to quickly re-read it before wild releasing it to continue its journey.
