Decameron

Selected Tales (Italian / English)

Giovanni Boccaccio

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Italian

Dover
10 November 2011

Series: Dover Dual Language Italian

A masterpiece of world literature, most likely written between 1349 and 1351, The Decameron alternates between tragedy and comedy in its sweeping view of life. Comprising 100 tales told by ten young people who have retreated to the countryside to escape the plague raging through fourteenth-century Florence, the work is a perfect example of classic Italian prose.

This volume contains a carefully chosen selection of 20 of its best-known tales, including those that inspired later works by Chaucer, Shakespeare, Gotthold Lessing, Keats, and other writers. Spiced with humor, rich dialogue, and colorful characters, the stories range from earthy satires to morality tales, from accounts of adulterous love and passion to suspenseful narratives of murder and revenge. Among them are such favorites as ""The Pot of Basil,"" ""Patient Griselda,"" the bawdy ""Putting the Devil Back in Hell,"" ""A Wager over Virtue,"" ""The Stone of Invisibility,"" and ""The Wild Hunt.""

For this dual-language edition, Stanley Appelbaum has provided an informative, thoughtful introduction and excellent new English translations on pages facing the Italian original. Sure to delight students of Italian language and literature, the volume will appeal as well to readers interested in classic medieval stories.

By: Giovanni Boccaccio
Imprint: Dover
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 14mm
Weight: 295g
ISBN: 9780486414324
ISBN 10: 0486414329
Series: Dover Dual Language Italian
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 10 November 2011
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified

Stanley Appelbaum served for decades as Dover's Editor in Chief until his retirement in 1996. He continues to work as a selector, compiler, editor, and translator of literature in a remarkable range of languages that includes Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Russian.