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The wife of Willesden : incorporating: The wife of Willesden's tale, which tale is preceded by The general lock-in and The wife of Willesden's prologue and followed by A retraction, told in verse couplets ; translated from the Chaucerian into North Weezian / Zadie Smith.

Smith, Zadie, (author.). Chaucer, Geoffrey,-1400. Wife of Bath's tale. (Added Author). Smith, Zadie. Wife of Willesden. (Added Author).

Summary:

"In her stage-writing debut, celebrated novelist and essayist Zadie Smith brings to life a comedic and cutting twenty-first century translation of Geoffrey Chaucer's classic The Wife of Bath. The Wife of Willesden follows Alvita, a Jamaican-born British woman in her mid-50s, as she tells her life story to a band of strangers in a small pub on the Kilburn High Road. Wearing fake gold chains, dressed in knock-off designer clothes, and speaking in a mixture of London slang and patois, Alvita recalls her five marriages in outrageous, bawdy detail, rewrites her mistakes as triumphs, and shares her beliefs on femininity, sexuality, and misogyny with anyone willing to listen. A thoughtful reimagining of an unforgettable narrative of female sexual power, written with singular verve and wit, The Wife of Willesden shows why Zadie Smith is one of the sharpest and most versatile writers working today"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 0593653734
ISBN: 9780593653739
Physical Description: xviii, 189 pages ; 21 cm
Publisher: New York : Penguin Books, 2023.
Copyright: ©2021

Content descriptions

General Note:	"First published in Great Britain by Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin Random House US, 2021"--Title page verso. "The Wife of Willesden was first presented by Kiln Theatre in association with Brent 2020, London Borough of Culture, on the occasion of the Brent 2020 pilgrimage and celebration"--Title page verso.
Formatted Contents Note:	Wife of Willesden -- General Lock-In -- Wife of Willesden's Prologue -- Wife of Willesden's Tale -- A Retraction -- From The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer -- Wife of Bath's Prologue -- Wife of Bath's Tale -- Chaucer's Retraction.