Today the Book remains the most reliable and illuminating account of Renaissance court life and of what it took to be the "Perfect Courtier" and "Court Lady." The Singleton translation-the most acclaimed and accurate available-is accompanied by annotations. "Criticism" features ten essays on The Book of the Courtier, which represent the best interpretations from the United States, Italy, and England including the backgrounds-rich essays by Amedeo Quondam and James Hankins. A Selected Bibliography, a Chronology, and an Index are included.
Author Biography
Daniel Javitch is Professor of Comparative Literature at New York University. He is the author of Poetry and Courtliness in Renaissance England, Proclaiming a Classic: The Canonization of Orlando Furioso, and is at work on a book tentatively entitled Thinking About Genre in the Sixteenth Century. He has been, since 1972, a director of New Directions Publishing Corporation. Charles S. Singleton was Professor Emeritus of Hispanic and Italian Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He also translated Boccaccio's Decameron and Dante's The Divine Comedy, and was awarded Italy's Order of Commendation for his contributions to the study of Italian literature.
