The Decameron Author:Giovanni Boccaccio During the 14th century the Black Death struck Florence and wiped out three of every four people of the city. Against this macabre setting Boccaccio spins the immortal tales of The Decameron. As his framework the author chooses ten young people - seven women and three youths - who flee from Florence to the doubtful safety of a suburban villa. T... more »here, to amuse each other and to blot out for a while the nearby horror and pestilence, each relates a tale a day for ten days.
The resulting stories tell of skulduggery and rascality, of thievery, murder and banditry, of cuckold husbands and faithless wives. Written in a cynical age, against a background of impending doom, these lusty tales are unfolded without restraint or false modesty. To read and savor them is to experience one of the greatest pleasures in all literature.« less