The term 'AUTHOR CANTERBURY TALES' refers to the 14th century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote the famous collection of stories known as The Canterbury Tales. The other crossword solutions refer to characters and settings from the book: 'MEAD' is a character, the REEVE; 'REEVE' is a character, the Miller; 'TABARD' is the name of an INN where the pilgrims gather; 'PRIORESS' is a character, the Nun; 'TITLE' is the TITLE of the book; and 'INN' is the setting of the book.