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Aretino, Pietro : The Ragionamenti; or, Dialogues of the Divine Pietro Aretino, Literally translated into English; With a reproduction of the Author's portrait engraved by Mark Antony Raimondi from the picture of Titian (Two Volumes)

Isidore Liseux, Paris, France, 1889

Six parts, complete in two volumes. Modern red 1/4 leather binding with red cloth. Gilt lettering on black leather spine label. Red, white, and gilt marbled endpapers. 5 1/4" x 7 1/2." All pages of both volumes, complete. Vol. I: xxxv, [2] 3-100. Vol. II: x, [1] 2-138. One black-and-white frontispiece portrait in Vol. I, complete. Table of Contents in the back of Vol. II. There is a tipped-in, black-and-white frontispiece in Vol. II which may be modern and not part of the original. Pages and covers are virtually pristine and intact. Binding is tight. Slight age toning to pages. A Very Good copy. Ragionamenti (1534-1536) was written by Pietro Aretino (1492-1556), an Italian poet, author, and playwright, as a satire on moralistic dialogs of his time. Aretino was well-known for his satires and outspoken literary assaults on powerful people. The story is about an experienced prostitute named Nanna who contemplates whether or not to have her daughter, Pippa, become a prostitute like herself, become married, or become a nun. Nanna instructs Pippa about the life of prostitution and the unscrupulous behavior of clients. Ragionamenti may be considered part of Aretino's signature vein of sociopolitical writing, as the corruption of men in Rome figure greatly in at least one of the dialogs. The book is divided into two parts, each representing three days of dialogs, so there are six dialogs in total. The six dialogs: "The Life of Nuns," "The Life of Married Women," "The Life of Courtesans," "The Education of Pippa," "The Wiles of Men," and "The Bawd's Tale.". Book. Book Condition: Fine. Binding: Hardcover

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