The Decameron.

The Decameron. By GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO. Trans. by G. H. MCWILLIAM. 2nd edn. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1995. Cli + 909 pp. 8.99 £.

The Penguin Classics Decameron first appeared in 1972; the greatly expanded second edition offers a new introduction, bibliography, and notes by the translator, together with copious indexes prepared by David Bowron, and elegant maps drawn by Reg Piggott. These features combine to make an extremely informative and stimulating one-volume edition for English readers. The sixty-eight pages of notes explain local references, point out sources and parallels, defend translation choices, and offer personal comments, some of which are both original and debatable. The major innovation, however, is G. H. McWilliam's Introduction, which (counting a very useful seven-page bibliography) comes to 121 pages, the length of a short critical book. As it is probably one of the most widely-read essays on the Decameron at present, the Introduction is worth considering in some...