The Story of My Life

Description

Seducer, gambler, necromancer, swindler, Good Samaritan, spy, swashbuckler, self-made gentlemen, entrepreneur, wit, poet, translator, philosopher, and general bonvivant, Giacomo Casanova was not only the most notorious lover the Western world has known, but also a storyteller of the first order. Since he lived a life richer and stranger than most fictions, the tale of his won adventures is his most compelling story, but his memoir remained - at 12 volumes - unfinished at the time of his death in 1798. In these selections, made from authoritative French texts, are all the highlights of Casanova's life: his youth in Venice as a precocious ecclesiastic; carousing and dabbling in the occult; imprisonment and thrilling escape; travels and encounters with major literary figures and world leaders; and, of course, many amorous conquests, ranging from noblewomen to nuns to cobblers' daughters, all of them willing partners in the adventures of his life.

Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) was born in Venice, the son of actors who wanted him to become a priest. Instead he had numerous occupations, and is remembered as one of history's great lovers. Stephen Satarelli is a poet and translator of Italian and French literary works. Sophie Hawes is an artist, printmaker, and translator. Gilberto Pizzamiglio is Professor of Italian Literature at the University of Venice.