The Heptameron (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Marguerite de Navarre (Author), Paul A. Chilton (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 1984 | Series: Penguin Classics

In the early 1500s five men and five women find themselves trapped by floods and compelled to take refuge in an abbey high in the Pyrenees. When told they must wait days for a bridge to be repaired, they are inspired - by recalling Boccaccio's Decameron - to pass the time in a cultured manner by each telling a story every day. The stories, however, soon degenerate into a verbal battle between the sexes, as the characters weave tales of corrupt friars, adulterous noblemen and deceitful wives. From the cynical Saffredent to the young idealist Dagoucin or the moderate Parlamente - believed to express De Navarre's own views - The Heptameron provides a fascinating insight into the minds and passions of the nobility of sixteenth century France.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Although its authorship has never been conclusively proven, The Heptameron is generally accepted as the work of Marguerite de Navarre, Queen of Navarre and the sister of Francois I. The Heptameron, which has parallels to both Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Boccaccio's Decameron, presents a collection of some seventy very short stories told by five gentleman and five lady travellers who find themselves stranded in an abbey. Proposed as an edifying method of passing time, the story-telling - as well as the conversations that follow each one - rapidly (d)evolves into an all-out verbal battle between the sexes. Most often the tales concern lovers, romantic conquests, and women's virtue - an object of intense pride and considerable power, or a prize of questionable/infinite value, depending upon the point of view. The stories include intimate details of adultery, flattery, betrayal, rape, and war; their very boldness and honesty may surprise many twentieth-century readers. The author declares that these stories actually were told by a group at the court of Francois I; the tellers testify to the veracity of their individual tales, and scholars have substantiated the claims for as many as twenty of the stories. Fictional or true, The Heptameron provides a rare and fascinating glimpse into the sixteenth century. Alternately bawdy, violent, chaste, funny, scatological, and sad, The Heptameron is a book to delight, offend, and educate twentieth-century readers. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation)

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (June 5, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014044355X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140443554
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decameron Lite, January 25, 2008

By 

Dick Johnson (Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Heptameron (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

This is an amusing "companion" to the Decameron - though shorter. While I have read both, if you only read one, I would recommend the Decameron. It has more depth and is better written. If you like it and want more that's in a similar vein, then read this. Neither are heavy reads and both have an interesting group of participants (they aren't really characters) who tell stories for their own daily amusement. This is another book I read in installments while reading other more plot driven books.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 70-odd stories fashioned after Boccaccio's Decameron, November 5, 1998

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This review is from: The Heptameron (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Anyone interested in gender studies, especially wishing to understand the sexual relationships between spouses and lovers, the perceptions of what is acceptable, what is "masculine" or "feminine," would not only enjoy the reading, but gain some insight on Renaissance French culture. Along with the Decameron, Faerie Queene, Shakespeare's plays, and Orlando Furioso, this text is a necessary one for understanding the society at court during the Renaissance in Europe.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Window on the 16th Century - and History in General, April 6, 2008

By 

Thomas Powell "Tom Powell" (Olympia, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Heptameron (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Marguerite de Navarre's Heptameron is a collection of seventy amusing stories which constitute a revealing "window" on the literate minority of the 16th century. Their principal focus is how men and women treat each other, not only then but perhaps always. The stories also provide other kinds of insights: e.g., the idea of predestined salvation or damnation was "in the air" intellectually before John Calvin's "Institutes." So it was formulated most effectively, but not originated, by Calvin. This fits a pattern of Western history: attributing developments to individuals, sort of a Most Valuable Player, individualistic version of history. For example, Gutenberg is said to have single-handedly "invented" moveable type, and Darwin to have discovered evolution, when these developments were hardly unique to them. As for Marguerite - or the storytellers for whom she is given credit of authorship - the stories are mainly fun.