Giovanni Francesco Straparola

[15] As a lettered man not native to Venice, Straparola may have held the position of teacher, private secretary, or a type of ‘ghost writer’ for a patron.

The use of a nickname is understandable as the publishing of satirical writings in sixteenth-century Venice often held personal danger for the author.

The tales, or novelle,[21] are divided into Nights, rather than chapters, and resemble the type of narrative presentation found in Boccaccio's Decameron (1350–52).

This presentation is of a gathering of Italian aristocrats, men and women, who entertain themselves by singing songs, dancing, and telling stories, The Pleasant Nights having added enigmas (riddles).

), was removed a few years after first appearing in the second volume due to Church influence,[22] while the entire collection entered a number of Indexes of prohibited books between 1580 and 1624.

[23][24] It is claimed that many of the stories in The Pleasant Nights had been taken from earlier works, specifically from Girolamo Morlini, a 15th/16th century lawyer from Naples whose Novellae, fabulae, comoedia appeared in 1520.

Of a truth I confess they are not mine, and if I said otherwise I should lie, but nevertheless I have faithfully set them down according to the manner in which they were told by the ladies, nobles, learned men and gentlemen who gathered together for recreation.

"[28] It was often the case in Renaissance Italy that the use of the "frame tale" allowed an author to dodge some of the criticism for printing stories from other writers by disclaiming original authorship, saying they only wrote down what they heard.

The "rise" plot takes a poor person—man or woman, girl or boy—and through the use of magic they obtain a marriage that leads to wealth: "rags-magic-marriage-riches".

[32] The stories of Straparola that can be considered ‘rise’ tales include "Peter the Fool":[33] through the auspices of a talking fish and its magic powers, a town fool rises to be a king; "Fortunio and the Siren":[34] an orphaned boy uses magic powers transferred to him by animals to secure a royal marriage; "Adamantina and the Doll":[35] a magic doll aids two women in securing royal marriages; and "Costantino Fortunato":[36] a talking cat gains marriage and wealth for her master.

Giambattista Basile's (1575?–1632) "Peruonto" and Mme d’Aulnoy's (1650?–1705) "The Dolphin," contain most of the same storyline as Straparola's "Peter the Fool", though the two former are studded with added morality: a foolish/ugly protagonist releases a fish/dolphin with magic powers that grants whatever is asked of it.

The plot in Straparola's "Ancilotto" is followed closely, with some differing details, in "The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird" as found in Joseph Jacobs's collection of 1916: to prevent a king from meeting with his children, they’re sent on near-impossible quests.

Basile's ‘The Goose’ follows the same plotline as Straparola's "Adamantina and the Doll": a doll/goose that grants bounty to two poor sisters ultimately leads them to marrying royally.