A seminal work of European literature that has inspired writers from Chaucer to Shakespeare, the ” Penguin Classics” edition of Giovanni Boccaccio`s ” The Decameron” is translated with an introduction by G.H. Mc William. In the summer of 1348, as the ” Black Death” ravages their city, ten young Florentines take refuge in the countryside. Taken from the Greek, meaning `ten-day event`, Boccaccio`s Decameron sees his characters amuse themselves by each telling a story a day, for the ten days of their confinement
- a hundred stories of love & adventure, life & death, & surprising twists of fate. Less preoccupied with abstract concepts of morality or religion than earthly values, the tales range from the bawdy Peronella, hiding her lover in a tub, to Ser Cepperallo, who, despite his unholy effrontery, becomes a Saint. The result is a towering monument of European literature & a masterpiece of imaginative narrative. This is the second edition of G.H. Mc William`s acclaimed translation of the ” Decameron”. In his introduction Mc William illuminates the worlds of Boccaccio & of his storytellers, showing Boccaccio as a master of vivid & exciting prose fiction. Boccaccio (1313-75) was an Italian writer of both verse & prose. He wrote ” The Decameron” over a period of ten years, & is also the author of ” Teseide & Filostrato”. If you enjoyed ” The Decameron”, you might like Dante`s ” Inferno”, also available in ” Penguin Classics”. ” Mc William`s finest work, his translation of Boccaccio`s ” Decameron” remains one of the most successful & lauded books in the series”. (” The Times”).