Book description
In the summer of 1348, as the Black Death ravages their city, ten young
Florentines take refuge in the countryside. They amuse themselves by
each telling a story a day for the ten days they are destined to remain
there - a hundred stories of love, adventure and 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 and a masterpiece of imaginative narrative.
Boccaccio (1313-1375) was an Italian writer of both verse and prose.
He wrote The Decameron over a period of ten years, and is also the
author of Teseide and Filostrato.
G H McWilliam was the first Professor of Italian at Leicester
University. He has also translated Verga's Cavalleria Rusticana for
Penguin Classics
