'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. It is valuable to have some of his most important letters, including a verse epistle. Hainsworth has a light editorial touch and has deliberately omitted some of the more ponderous works...All in all, a luminous portrait of the 'father of humanism' - David Marsh, Rutgers