The Cambridge History of Italian Literature

This first substantial history of Italian literature to appear in the English language for forty years provides a comprehensive survey of one of the richest and most influential literatures of Europe. Translations, a map, chronological chart and bibliographies help make the volume accessible to general readers as well as students and scholars. Italy possesses one of the richest and most influential literatures of Europe, stretching back to the thirteenth century. This substantial history of Italian literature provides a comprehensive survey of Italian writing since its earliest origins. Leading scholars describe and assess the work of writers who have contributed to the Italian literary tradition, including Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, the Renaissance humanists, Machiavelli, Ariosto and Tasso, pioneers and practitioners of commedia dell'arte and opera, and the contemporary novelists Calvino and Eco. The Cambridge History of Italian Literature sets out to be accessible to the general reader as well as to students and scholars: translations are provided, along with a map, chronological chart and substantial bibliographies.