Selections from The Decameron

At the time of the plague that ravished Europe in the 1340's, a group of friends in Italy enclosed themselves in a castle in an attempt to survive the maelstrom outside. To pass the time, they told stories; ten stories over a period of ten days. This remarkable collection, with an equally well-known preface, has delighted readers ever since with its wit, bawdiness and invention.

Naxos Audiobooks presents this selection in the lively, no holds barred, translation by the First World War poet Richard Aldington.

Music: Medieval Italian music