Boccaccio

In the summer of 1348, the plague ravages Florence, and ten young Florentines take refuge in the countryside, where they entertain themselves with tales of love, death and corruption, featuring a host of colourful characters, from lascivious clergymen and mad kings to devious lovers and false miracle-makers. Named after the Greek for ten days, Boccaccio's book of stories draws on ancient mythology, contemporary events and everyday life, leaving an indelible mark on the works of future writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare. J.G. Nichols's new translation stays as faithful to the original as possible while being written in a clear and eminently modern English, capturing the timeless humour of one of the great classics of world literature.

Decameron

Cameron

 No physician's prescriptions, no medicine seemed of the slightest benefit as a cure for this disease. In addition to those trained in medicine, the number of men and women who claimed to be physicians without having studied the subject at all grew immensely; however, whether it was that the nature of the malady would not permit it, or because doctors were unable to discover its origins and therefore could not apply the proper remedy, not only did few people recover but indeed nearly all the sick would succumb within three days of the above-mentioned symptoms' first appearance; some died sooner, some later, and the majority with no fever, nothing. 

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