The Decameron cover art

The Decameron

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Decameron

By: Giovanni Boccaccio
Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale, Gunnar Cauthery, Alison Pettitt, Daisy Badger, Carly Bawden, Lucy Briggs-Owen, full cast
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £5.99

Buy Now for £5.99

About this listen

The Decameron is one of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages. Ten young people have fled the terrible effects of the Black Death in Florence and, in an idyllic setting, tell a series of brilliant stories, by turns humorous, bawdy, tragic and provocative. This celebration of physical and sexual vitality is Boccaccio's answer to the sublime other-worldliness of Dante's Divine Comedy.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2008 Oxford University Press (Translation) (P)2017 Naxos AudioBooks Classics Middle Ages Comedy Witty
All stars
Most relevant
First class. It is well produced and well read and maintained my interest to the end of the book.

Excellent production

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Simon-Russell Beale and a fantastic young cast bring the Decameron to vivid, raunchy, funny life, with beautiful, newly-arranged songs and real spirit. Uplifting and joyful.

14th Century Fun

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story is perfect for our own pandemic. The stories are fun, lovely, dirty and poetic. They are so modern and dynamic. Great great book.

Fantastic book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great insight into medieval values, sometimes marred by a bit of a Benny Hill reading, where the narrator overemphasized anything "naughty'. Also the names were all mispronounced which may jarr with Italian speakers For some reason, poor people were generally given North English accents.

Great insight into medieval values.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Masterful reading by talented actors. An added pleasure to the book was the chanted rendition of the songs

Excellent rendition

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews