Life of Dante (Hesperus Classics) (Paperback)

by Giovanni Boccaccio (Author), A. N. Wilson (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Review
It is a book that reveals the lives of two great Florentines, not one. James Eve -- The Times

They don’t write biographies like this any more, unfortunately: extremely short, poetic and funny, and quite wonderfully unconcerned with trivia. -- The Guardian

Product Description
A hugely important literary work both in terms of the insights it provides into the lives and minds of two great men and as an early example of the biographer’s art.

Boccaccio was a fervent admirer of Dante, and as such, he embarked upon writing this short piece as a vindication of the merits of his illustrious fellow citizen. Yet far from being simply an account of the misfortunes that befell the great Florentine exile, the resulting Life of Dante also offers precious insight into Boccaccio’s own ideas on a variety of topics, including poetry, literature, women, and society. Giovanni Boccaccio is universally considered to be the father of Italian prose, with his Decameron regarded as a landmark in the history of Western literature. Foreword by A.N. Wilson.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 91 pages
• Publisher: Hesperus Press (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843910063
• ISBN-13: 978-1843910060
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #621,573 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When a son of Florence writes about another son of Florence, April 20, 2005

By	Aria Murasaka "a world traveler" (http://muses-garden.blogspot.com) - See all my reviews

"The Life of Dante", by Giovanni Boccaccio, is aptly described in the introduction by J.G. Nichols, at the beginning of this edition, as the "first modern literary biography", which is true, to some extent. Yet, in a time when a string of biographies written on more or less famous people seems to have, as only purpose, the crude expositions of mildly interesting (if at all) juicy tidbits, and this usually in a poor prose, this book, written in the 14th century by the author of the "Decameron", is at the same time light-hearted, poetic and informative. It gives us not only an insight into Dante's life, work and personality, but also into that of Boccaccio (and his infamous aversion to marriage, at least to that of the 'philosophers') and into the Florence both knew.

But most important and touching I think is the honest love for Dante's works and admiration for the man that are on display in every page, even when Boccaccio addresses Dante's faults. And of course, the style of the Florentine, one of the great writers behind the foundation of the Italian literature, only adds to the interest of this biography. A very refreshing reading, and a must for those of you who are at least curious about one of the major masterpieces of European literature and the man behind it.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One literary master on another, September 22, 2004

By	W. Chamberlain - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Invaluable to anyone interested in Italian literature, Dante or Boccaccio. Boccaccio, of course was a great admirer of Dante's, wrote a commentary on the Divine Comedy and was greatly influenced by him. Writing at a time when Dante was not given the respect he has since (surely inevitably) gained, Boccaccio wrote this biography of him, pointing out his great merits as a person, poet, and political figure. It's fascinating to see the results, with insights on every page into both Dante, Boccaccio, and also Florentine society of the time. There are wonderful stories about Dante to illustrate his peculiarities as a man - I particularly enjoyed the story of him vandalising a workman's tools for misquoting the Comedy. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting for multiple reasons, May 25, 2007

By	Russell T. Warne - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book probably couldn't be labeled as overly entertaining, but it is very interesting. For one thing, it's the very first biography of Dante. Even more importantly, it's written by Giovanni Boccaccio, one of the great luminaries of Italian literature. As far as I know, no other biography written by one literary genius about another exists.

I was pleased to find a lot of material and anecdotes in it that I had also found in modern biographies. I also enjoyed reading firsthand the adoration that Dante's people poured upon him so soon after "The Divine Comedy" was written.

There are a few things in the book that might surprise modern readers. The supposed unhappiness of Dante's marriage is talked about for quite some time, despite Boccaccio acknowledging that he has no evidence of marital troubles besides his (Boccaccio's) own personal misogyny. Also, medieval literary theory and Boccaccio's opinions on literature sidetrack the narrative a bit, but that is simply how biographies were written at the time.

The only thing I don't like and can't explain is why the publishers included a story from "The Decameron" at the end of the book. The tale isn't about Dante and does not add to the biography.