Walking to Canterbury: A Modern Journey Through Chaucer's Medieval England

A decade ago, Jerry Ellis followed the long Trail of Tears to explore his Cherokee lineage, a journey he recounted in his well-crafted memoir Walking the Trail. Now, honoring the English side of his heritage, he offers this lively sequel: an account of a short but adventure-filled hike from London to Canterbury.

Canterbury, of course, is the site of a great cathedral, and the place where St. Thomas à Becket was murdered in 1170. Throughout the Middle Ages, pilgrims made their way there from all over Europe to seek the miraculous powers of his blood and spirit, as Geoffrey Chaucer recounts in The Canterbury Tales. But it is also a resolutely modern and all too worldly place of cell phones, fast-food restaurants, and freeways. For every present-day traveler and artifact he encounters along his path, Ellis finds just the right counterpart from the past. His engaging narrative shifts between eras and continents, joining personal and universal history while commenting on forgotten times and customs.

Ellis's altogether enjoyable memoir deserves a place alongside the writings of Bill Bryson, Paul Theroux, and other intrepid walkers--and it is a welcome treat for fans of Chaucer, too. --Gregory McNamee