Books by Margaret Hallissy

Illuminates the preconceptions which Chaucer's original audience would have brought to his work. This study aims to provide an original dimension for reading Chaucer, while the feminist-historicist approach extends the field of interest to medieval studies and women's studies in general.

This work demonstrates the ways in which a complex of ideas with a misogynistic basis relates to the image of the venomous woman--the woman who uses poisons or potions, who has a relationship with a venomous animal, or who is herself poisonous. Hallissy suggests that the venomous woman is an image of feminine power reflected in masculine fear.

This do-it-yourself course for the first-time Chaucer reader is geared specifically to high school and undergraduate students because it systematically proceeds through a clear explication of each tale and makes the tales accessible to those unfamiliar with Chaucer's work.