Casanova

The World of a Seductive Genius

Laurence Bergreen

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Paperback

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English

Simon & Schuster
13 February 2018

Biography; Biography: historical, political & military; Biography: literary; General & world history; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900

"""Sexy, surprising, funny, insightful, and wildly entertaining"" (Huffington Post)--the definitive biography of Giacomo Casanova, the impoverished boy who became the famous writer, notorious libertine, and self-invented genius in decadent eighteenth-century Europe.

Today, ""Casanova"" is a synonym for ""great lover,"" yet the real story of this remarkable figure is little known. A figure straight out of a Henry Fielding novel, Giacomo Casanova was erotic, brilliant, impulsive, and desperate for recognition; a self-destructive genius. Over the course of his lifetime, he claimed to have seduced more than one hundred women, among them married women, young women in convents, girls just barely in their teens, women of high and low birth alike. Abandoned by his mother, an actress and courtesan, Casanova was raised by his illiterate grandmother, coming of age in a Venice filled with spies and political intrigue. He was intellectually curious and read forbidden books, for which he was jailed. He staged a dramatic escape from Venice's notorious prison, I Piombi, the only person known to have done so. He then fled to France, ingratiated himself at the royal court, and invented the national lottery that still exists to this day. He crisscrossed Europe, landing for a while in St. Petersburg, where he was admitted to the court of Catherine the Great. He corresponded with Voltaire and met Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte--assisting them as they composed the timeless opera Don Giovanni. And he wrote what many consider the greatest memoir of the era, the twelve-volume Story of My Life. Laurence Bergreen's Casanova recounts this astonishing life in rich, intimate detail, and at the same time, paints a dazzling portrait of eighteenth-century Europe, filled with a cast characters from serving girls to kings and courtiers, ""great fun for any history lover"" (Kirkus Reviews)."

By: Laurence Bergreen
Imprint: Simon & Schuster
Dimensions: Height: 226mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 36mm
Weight: 544g
ISBN: 9781476716503
ISBN 10: 1476716501
Publication Date: 13 February 2018
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for Casanova: The World of a Seductive Genius

Sexy, surprising, funny, insightful, and wildly entertaining. --The Huffington Post Casanova's adventures include plenty of juicy details, and Bergreen weaves in just enough to prove his reputation. . . . Great fun for any history lover. --Kirkus Reviews [Bergreen] conveys much of his subject's charm in this retelling of many seductions. . . . Readers will enjoy the bold characterization and fascinating social history of eighteenth-century Europe. --Booklist Casanova is a brilliant account of the life, adventures and tribulations of this 18th-century Venetian adventurer and author. To all those who seem to think sex was invented in their lifetime, I suggest they take a look back in time and see if they can't learn a thing or two from a true master. --Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Author of The Doctor Is In: Dr. Ruth on Love, Life and Joie de Vivre Few readers of Laurence Bergreen's new biography, Casanova: The World of a Seductive Genius, will emerge from it wholly disapproving of this remarkable man. . . . His saving graces included limitless curiosity, resilience and joie de vivre, as he bounced shamelessly from one misadventure to the next. --Anthony Gottlieb The New York Times Book Review