The stories have been chosen to represent themost notable of the author#xE2;#x80;#x99;s themes and the most characteristic andinfluential examples of his narrative technique. All are in newtranslations by Mark Musa and Peter Bondanella which successfullycapture Boccaccio#xE2;#x80;#x99;s variations in diction and sentence structure. "Contemporary Reactions" includes Petrarch#xE2;#x80;#x99;s letters to Boccaccio aftercompletion of The Decameron and the responses of such ItalianRenaissance figures as Leonardo Bruni, Filippo Villani, GiannozzoManetti, and Ludovico Dolce, all of which have been translated for thisedition. "Modern Criticism" includes interpretations by Ugo Foscolo, FrancescoDe Sanctis, Erich Auerbach, Aldo D. Scaglione, Wayne Booth, TzvetanTodorov, Robert J. Clements, and Marga Cottino-Jones. Thomas G. Bergin#xE2;#x80;#x99;s important historical overview is published here forthe first time, while Ben Lawton#xE2;#x80;#x99;s study of Pier Paolo Pasolini#xE2;#x80;#x99;sfilming of The Decameron and a general essay by the editors werewritten specially for this volume.