The Decameron, Volume I

Ser Ciappelletto is dying, and the confession he gives a holy friar is a masterpiece of deceit. Could a wicked man’s last lie make him a saint?

In plague-struck Florence, ten young people leave the city for a country villa, where they take turns telling stories to fill the days. Across the first tales, clever tricksters, lovers and schemers test the power of fortune—and the honesty of those who claim to speak for God. Boccaccio’s world is witty, worldly and often startlingly bold: a sharp retort can humble a king, while a single mischance can send a traveler’s life spinning. As each tale gives way to the next, who will outwit whom?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

Who are we? We're Cairn Press. Our background is in design, publishing, typography, and technology. These skills fuel our mission to create the highest quality Public Domain eBooks available online, at an affordable price. We give them the treatment they deserve; our proprietary process restores books for a better overall user experience in design, readability, and e-reader compatibility.