I borrowed The Decameron because I read somewhere that it was a major influence on The Gargoyle, one of my favourite recent books.

The Decameron (deca referring to the 10 days of 10 stories, I think?) is a collection of short tales from 14th century Italy, mostly about money, love and sex. Once you get used to the language, it is actually very witty and a bit risqué in places, but the language did make it quite a laborious read for me.

It's worth persevering with though. Some of the stories are hilarious, with memorable characters, most of whom are involved in deception related to philandering in one way or another, and the female characters in particular are very strong. ( )