author
Giambattista Basile
d. 1632
An early master of the literary fairy tale, this Italian writer gathered lively stories that preserve some of the oldest known versions of tales later retold across Europe. His best-known work, the Pentamerone, helped shape the fairy-tale tradition that influenced writers like Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm.
3 Audiobooks
Stories from the Pentamerone
by Giambattista Basile
About the author
Born in the Kingdom of Naples and baptized on February 15, 1566, Giambattista Basile was an Italian poet, courtier, and storyteller of the Baroque era. He served as a soldier and public official, and he moved through noble courts in southern Italy, experiences that fed the rich, worldly tone of his writing.
He is best remembered for Lo cunto de li cunti, also known as the Pentamerone, a collection of tales written in Neapolitan and published after his death in the 1630s. The book is especially important because it preserves some of the earliest recorded forms of stories that later became famous as "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," and other classic fairy tales.
Basile died in 1632, but his work has had a long afterlife. What makes his stories stand out even now is their mix of humor, sharp observation, fantasy, and local speech, giving readers a vivid sense of both folklore and everyday life.