Ten young Florentines flee the Black Death of 1348 by escaping to a country villa overlooking the city. There they spend ten days telling each other one hundred stories. Their stories run the gamut of medieval genres-romance, tragedy, comedy and farce-and are rich with wit, earthiness and even bawdy irreverence.

Boccaccio's reputation as one of the world's greatest authors rests entirely on this singular, overflowing work. A tribute to the essential power of storytelling and laughter, even in the most trying times, The Decameron has been a source and inspiration for countless other storytellers over the centuries. Published on the 700th anniversary of Boccaccio's birth, Wayne A. Rebhorn's Decameron now speaks to us directly in a lively, contemporary... English (Stephen Greenblatt).