CasanovaThe real fascination of the career of Giacomo Casanova is often overlooked by those who know him only for his sexual exploits. "Great lover" he was; but he was also much more. The bastard son of Venetian actors, he rose to consort with scholars and cardinals, kings and noblemen; and he wrote one of the liveliest autobiographies of all time. He was lawyer, churchman, gambler, Freemason, musician, impresario, confidence trickster, master of all situations and victim of most. He was one of the most colorful and versatile figures -- indeed the archetypal personality -- of the eighteenth century. The distinguished writer, John Masters, author of Bhowani Junction, Nightrunners of Bengal and Bugles and a Tiger, has made a special study of Casanova's life and times. In this book he recounts Casanova's extraordinary exploits with great narrative skill, candor and racy humor, and offers some new insights into his powerful and complex personality. Here is a revealing portrayal of Casanova's forthright honesty and his tantalizing secrecies, his frauds, his bisexual loves, his feats of courage and ingenuity, and his unceasing travels, which traced and retraced the roads of Europe in a never-ending quest for a certain generous splendor of living, seen by but denied to the actor's brat, briefly enjoyed by the mature man in the full flower of his rascally genius, and again denied to the old Casanova, dying in a lonely castle in Bohemia -- a pensioned librarian. There are superb adventures, excitingly told, such as the famous escape over the rooftops from prison in Venice, and many passages of high comedy, such as the cabalistic frauds upon the elderly widow who yearned to be reborn as a boy. In telling Casanova's life story as objectively and accurately as the known facts permit John Masters's portrait reveals the great lover as a man who illustrates the violent social and moral contrasts of his time. The narrative is most vividly illustrated with contemporary portraits, prints and specially comissioned photographs of particular scenes which have remained virtually unchanged since Casanova's time. With 48 pages of color plates and more than 130 other illustrations, this is the most exhaustively illustrated biography of Casanova ever published. |
Contents
List of Colour Plates page | 6 |
Two The Philosophers Stone page | 41 |
Three Tu oublieras aussi Henriette | 59 |
Copyright | |
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Abbé actress affair ambassador Ancona Andrea Memmo asked Balbi Balletti began begged Bellino Bernis bills of exchange Bragadin Branicki brother cabala cabalistic called carriage Casanova left Casanova took castrato Charpillon Comte de Saint-Germain Corticelli Countess Dandolo daughter Duchcov Duke Engraving father Faulkircher France Francesco Francesco Casanova Francesco Guardi Freemason Freemasonry French gambling Giacomo Casanova Giandomenico Tiepolo Giovanni girl gonorrhoea Goudar Grimani hand Henriette Inquisitors King knew lady Laforgue later laugh letter lived London look lottery lover Madame Marcoline married mistress Mme d'Urfé monk Morosini mother never night once Painting Palace Paris Passano patrician Pietro Longhi play police Pontcarré priest Prince Prince de Ligne Querilinth Rome says secret sequins sexual Signora soon Soradaci story Teresa theatre thought told tried Trieste Turin turned Venetian Venice Viderol virgin wanted woman women writing wrote young