The Essential Petrarch

"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 infrastructureoand 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 "Hainsworth's translations from the Italian are first-rate, both in terms of accuracy to the intent of the originals ... and in terms of conveying the force of Petrarch's imagery. The translations from the Latin read freshly and easily ... they are sure-footed, managing to capture the mix of pride and playfulness which characterizes Petrarch's composite prose style. "The notes to the individual poems are well-judged, just enough to keep the reader on track without parading off-putting erudition." -- Jonathan Usher, Emeritus, University of Edinburgh "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. Hainsworth has a light editorial touch... "All in all, a luminous portrait of the 'father of humanism'." -- David Marsh, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey