****"The Decameron reads in some ways as a guide to social distancing
and self-isolation." --The New York Times
"The 14th-century Italian book that shows us how to survive
coronavirus." **--**New Statesman
Bawdy and moving, hilarious and reflective: these stories offer the very
best of Boccaccio's Decameron--the inspiration for the new film The
Little Hours--in a brilliant, playful new translation.*
*
In the early summer of the year 1348, as a terrible plague ravages the
city, ten charming young Florentines take refuge in country villas to
tell each other stories--one hundred stories of love, adventure, and
surprising twists of fortune that later inspired Chaucer, Keats, and
Shakespeare. Now, this hugely enjoyable volume collects the best stories
of Boccaccio's masterwork in a fresh, accessible new translation by
Peter Hainsworth. It includes such celebrated, thought-provoking tales
as Isabella and the Pot of Basil (famously adapted by Keats) and Patient
Griselda alongside many boisterous and daring stories featuring
faithless wives, philandering priests, and curious nuns. Written in an
early Florentine dialect and influencing scores of literature that
followed, The Decameron is a masterpiece of classical Italian prose.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of
classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700
titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works
throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the
series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and
notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as
up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
