Nevill Coghill (1899-1980) was Fellow and Tutor of English Literature at Exeter College, Oxford, and subsequently Merton Professor of English Literature. A lively and unorthodox teacher, he reached a larger audience than most scholars are accustomed to with his modern English version of The Canterbury Tales, first published in 1951. He was also associated with the Inklings, the informal Oxford literary group centred on C.S. Lewis, whose other members included J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams. He was, however, best known as the most influential amateur theatrical director of the period, particularly for his open-air productions performed in college gardens under the auspices of the Oxford University Dramatic Society. For further details see the Dictionary of National Biography.