THE DECAMERON GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO
Set against the background of the Black Death of 1348, the hundred linked tales in Giovanni Boccaccio's undisputed masterpiece are peopled by nobles, knights, abbots, nuns, doctors, lawyers, philosophers, students, artists, tradesman, troubadours, peasants, pilgrims, servants, spendthrifts, thieves, parasites, gluttons, gamblers, police-and lovers, both faithful and faithless.
Unabashedly earthly in its sensuality, The Decameron recaptures both the tragedies and comedies of life, and it is surely one of the greatest achievements in the history of literature.
With an Introduction by Thomas G. Bergin and a New Afterword by Teodolinda Barolini