“This book’s depth of detail, breadth of coverage, and consistently high level of critical analysis make it unparalleled in Anglophone Petrarch scholarship and indispensable to anyone seriously interested in this perennially fascinating poet and thinker. A must for collections in Italian studies, medieval and Renaissance culture, and comparative literature.”

S. Botterill | Choice

“This single (and singular) volume—the product of an international conference held to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Petrarch’s birth—bears eloquent testimony to the diversity and complexity (as well as the unity) of his oeuvre. Its contributors, a veritable Who’s Who of Petrarch scholars, together treat virtually every work ever penned by the Trecento poet and humanist. Their twenty-three sensitive, concise, and often fascinating studies are not presented in the chronological order of Petrarch’s works; rather (and more intriguingly), they are divided among seven sections, each of which is devoted to a separate aspect of the Italian’s literary corpus. . . . Petrarch constitutes a well-conceived and well-executed guide to the complete works that will be of use to scholars and students of all levels who work on Medieval and Renaissance literature in Italian, comparative literature, and related fields.”

JoAnn DellaNeva | Renaissance Quarterly

“A highly meritorious work, a massive scholarly enterprise that covers Petrarch’s entire oeuvre, published . . . in an elegant volume, with illustrations and a memorable frontispiece.”

Maria Esposito Frank, University of Hartford | Sixteenth Century Journal

“A provocative reference work for anyone working on the totality of Petrarch’s output. The essays combine fresh scholarship and revisionist arguments in clear, richly documented, and lucid expositions. Without great fanfare and with a keen eye for literary and historical detail, Victoria Kirkham and Armando Maggi have managed to offer original, intelligent, detailed, and inspiring interpretations of Petrarchan lyrical, historiographical and autobiographical narratives.”

Valeria Finucci, Duke University

“Victoria Kirkham and Armando Maggi have given the English-speaking world a richly-textured intellectual and artistic portrait of Petrarch that will engross both the novice and the seasoned petrarchista. This veritable treasure of a book will stand the test of time.”

P. M. Forni, Johns Hopkins University

“A book that every medievalist and early modernist will feel obliged to own.  Much like the way Durling’s translation created a market for itself thirty years ago, Petrarch: A Critical Guide will deliver to us a new Petrarch, with many of the less familiar works reweighed in significance and even the principal ones freshly understood. Knowing the poet well, I was continually surprised at how much I learned from the essays."

Roland Greene, Stanford University