The Essential Petrarch (Paperback)

Paperback. 'A judicious selection of the varied writings of the great humanist, translated from both Latin and Italian. The introduction is admirably structured, clear and coherent, and presents Petrarch to the reader without didacticism or oversimplification. It is valuable to have some of his most important letters, including a verse epistle. Hainsworth has a light editorial touch and has deliberately omitted some of the more ponderous works.All in all, a luminous portrait of the 'father of humanism' David Marsh, Rutgers Petrarch fashioned so many different versions of himself for posterity that it is an exacting task to establish where one might start to explore.Hainsworth's study meets this problem through examples of what Petrarch wrote, and does so decisively and succinctly.[A] careful and unpretentious book, penetrating in its organization and treatment of its subject, gentle in its guidance of the reader, nimble and dexterous in its scholarly infrastructureand no less profound for those qualities of lightness. The translations themselves are a delight, and are clearly the result of profound meditation and extensive experiment.The Introduction and the notes to each work form a clear plexus of support for the reader, with a host of deft cross-references. --Richard Mackenny, Binghamton University, State University of New York Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…