The Road To Canterbury - A Modern Pilgrimage

The Road to Canterbury: A Modern Pilgrimage (1994) by Shirley Du Boulay – Fount
ISBN: 9780006279600 | Condition: Fine | From Crappy Old Books

Forget the days of Chaucer’s bawdy travellers swapping tales on horseback—Shirley Du Boulay’s The Road to Canterbury brings the pilgrimage bang up to date (well, 1994’s idea of “modern”). This isn’t about knights, millers, or wives of Bath; it’s about the quiet rediscovery of an ancient spiritual journey in a world more familiar with motorway service stations than medieval shrines. Du Boulay, a former BBC producer turned spiritual writer, charts the footsteps, stories, and resonances of Canterbury pilgrimages for those of us who don’t own a horse but might still be tempted by a stout pair of walking boots and a thermos.

This copy is in fine condition, which in Crappy Old Books terms means it has been treated with nearly reverential care. No bent corners, no creased spine, no mud-splattered margins suggesting it ever travelled in a rucksack on the actual road to Canterbury. Instead, it looks as though it has made its journey from printer to shelf to your hands with barely a scuff—a sort of armchair pilgrimage in book form.

Inside, Du Boulay weaves together history, reflection, and personal exploration. She asks what pilgrimage means in an age when most of us travel for business or leisure, not penance or prayer. Is the search for meaning any less urgent today than in the 14th century? Can the walk itself—the slow rhythm of one foot after another—still unlock the sacred in a restless modern world?

For the spiritually curious, this book offers inspiration without demanding blisters. For lovers of travel writing, it’s a chance to see England’s ancient routes reframed through contemporary eyes. And for collectors, it’s a crisp 1994 Fount edition in condition fine enough to make Chaucer’s pilgrims blush.

So here it is: The Road to Canterbury: A Modern Pilgrimage, a book that promises you don’t need a mule or a psalter to seek out meaning—just a willingness to take the first step.

Crappy Old Books: guiding you on life’s journeys, one improbably fine paperback at a time.

Condition near new.

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