The Novellino Translated by Roberta L. Payne- Introduction by Janet L. Smarr

"Professor Payne's translation of the 'Novellino' unites form with content in preserving the delightful mixture of didactic formality and colloquialism. In doing so, she renders a document as important for its cross-section of medieval class structure and its relationship to the commoner's oral tradition of social criticism as for its elucidation of the tastes, manners, and education of the aristocratic audience the Prologue addresses." (Gwendolyn Morgan, Montana State University)
"Whether the reader is interested in the history of Italian literature or oral literature in general, new historicism or folklore, speech-act theory or stories entertaining for their own sake, this meticulous modern translation by Dr. Roberta Payne makes an important work once again accessible to us all." (Elizabeth A. Holtze, Metropolitan State College of Denver)