The Decameron (Oxford World's Classics)

by Giovanni Boccaccio (Author), Guido Waldman (Translator), Guido Waldman (Translator), Jonathan Usher (Editor), Giovanni Boccaccio (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1998

  $9.22

  This new translation by Guido Waldman captures the exuberance and variety and tone of Boccaccio's masterpiece.

• Used

  Paperback
  1993

  $3.38

  Written in the wake of the Black Death, this book tells of how ten young noble men and women, who have escaped the plague in a country villa outside of Florence, decide to tell each other stories. Themes are playfully restated from one story to another, within an elegant framework. In 100 tales, vivid portraits of people from all stations in life are portrayed, with plots that revel in a bewildering variety of human reactions. Boccaccio's work combines the essential ingredients of narrative: fate and desire, crises and quick-thinking.

• New

  Paperback
  2008

  $13.89

  The Decameron (c.1351) was written in the wake of the Black Death, a shattering epidemic which had shaken Florence's confident entrepreneurial society to its core. In a country villa outside the city, ten young noble men and women who have escaped the plague decide to tell each other stories. Boccaccio's skill as a dramatist is masterfully displayed in this virtuoso performance of one hundred tales, vivid portraits of people from all stations in life, with plots which revel in a bewildering variety of human reactions. Themes are playfully restated from one story to another within an elegant and refined framework. One of Chaucer's most fruitful sources for the Canterbury Tales, Boccaccio's work artfully combines the essential ingredients of narrative: fate and desire, crises and quick-thinking. This new translation by Guido Waldman captures the exuberance and variety and tone of Boccaccio's masterpiece. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.