The Story of My Life

by Giacomo Casanova and Arthur Machen

Book Overview

Describes the author's travels, love affairs, and other adventures and portrays life in eighteenth-century Europe." This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140439153
• ISBN13: 9780140439151
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Length: 576 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.1" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Excellent

I really liked this book because it is well written and gives a good understanding of the life and times of Casanova. This is a must read for those interested in 18th century classics.

Actual review of the product, NOT the book itself.

I love reading about Casanova's exploits, so I bought this copy for my collection. The pages are durable and strong, the spine doesn't bend or break like some books tend to do, so you end up with that funny "bump", you know what I mean? The text is legible and large enough, the font is a good choice. The front photo is cute to look at, and it doesn't fade. Over all, an excellent copy of this often reprinted story.

Casanova: The cupid of hedonism ran riot in the Age of Enlightment

Giacomo Casanova (his name has become synonymous with that of a fiery amatory male!) was born in 1725. Somehow he managed to live until 1798 in a life which would make many people tired by just reading about his countless adventures! Among his many avocations was that of priest; soldier; courtier; gambler; violinist; spy;translator and famed author. Casanova managed to cram several lifetimes into his 73 wild years. If you want to follow this ultimate rake across the world be prepared to visit Italy, Germany,England,France, Spain, Switzerland, the Ottoman Empire of Turkey and Russia. Along the roue's route he met such luminaries as Voltaire, Frederick the Great and Catherine the Great. Casanova a serial lover of the fair and innocent maidens he seduce dwith wit, charm and seductive skills. He was imprisoned at times always managing a daring escape or the ability to have friends in high place save his love machine hide. He was no dunce being able to write and converse in many languages. His autobiography was written in French being widely published in his lifetime and ever since. The Penguin edition is an abridgement of his monumental work which in its entirety would swell to over 3,000 pages. The translators add material which connects the episodes. The book is filled with colorful characters; excellent descriptions of what Europe was like among the elite and filled with enough sex scenes to keep the reader searching for more. Casanova was not someone you would want your daughter to bring home to meet her family. He would make an excellent guest on the TV chat shows! Enjoy a few hours of pure escapism with this famous work!

1/2... The Life and Love's of History's Most Famous Libertine

Casanova. The word conjures love, lust, seduction, and romantic brilliance. The man and the name have become icons for the past two and a half centuries as the epitome in the art of love. Giacomo Geronimo Casanova was born in 1725 at Venice to parents who were actors. At a young age he was brought to a boarding school near Padua where the child developed a precociousness which impressed his elders. At 17, he obtained a doctorate in law from the University of Padua and began a career in the clergy. He travelled to southern Italy and Rome and became a secretary to the cardinal. His career with the church was cut short by scandal, an occurence which would become a fixture all throughout his life. Shortly after he joined the army as an officer of low-rank for the Republic of Venice and was stationed at Corfu, but gave up military life to become a violinist back at Venice. At the age of 21, he saved the life of a Venetian nobleman who became a patron of long-standing to the young man and who elevated him to the status of a wealthy gentleman. This gave him the privilege to travel across the breadth of Europe, meeting famous people of the day and pursuing amorous encounters where his lasting reputation rests. A talented conversationalist, he was frequently invited to the social circles of diverse European society, rubbing shoulders equally with cobblers and royalty. His fickle and temperamental personality got him into frequent scrapes with the law: he duped gullible socialites, started lotteries; became a spy, diplomat, and writer. The Inquisition of Venice accused him of witchcraft and was sentenced to imprisonment in "The Leads" prison, one of the most secure penal infrastructures of the time, where he made a sensational escape. He became an exile from his homeland and resumed his travels across Europe. In 1785 he became librarian to the Count of Waldstein in the castle of Dux, Bohemia, where he spent his last years recalling his brilliant and turbulent life and writing his memoirs. And it is in this memoirs where his life and legacy are contained. Written in a flowing, stainless elegance, Casanova's "Memoirs" is one of the best and most representative artifacts from the Age of Enlightenment. The sights and sounds of 18th-Century European life are recreated through the eyes and senses of one intelligent and opinionated observer. Witness the humor of Casanova being duped by his first love and the theater women of Paris. Revel in the taboo of peeking into the loverboy's seduction of a nun as he goes to great lengths to provide the right place and mood for their nocturnal trysts. Read in barely contained excitement and tension as he makes his remarkable escape from the dreaded "Leads" prison. Be thrilled and sympathize with the proud but foolish fop as he duels with a Polish noble and almost get's hanged in the process. Watch in fascination as he meets and matches intellect with the leading notables of his day, all now prominent figures of world histo

Adventurer in love and life...

Casanova has been hailed as the greatest lover of the 18th century and has become the first person we think of in the ways of seduction. He is the quintessential ladies man for some, and for others, a manipulative scoundrel, an expert at self-promotion, and at worse, a spinner of colourful tails. In fact he is all these things and much more. On top of his many amorous affairs with not only servants and chambermaids but also ladies of nobility, he is a compelling storyteller, a gentleman of taste, a violinist, theologian, philosopher and a gifted courtier. There has been so much written about the man, that I felt compelled to read about his life from his own words. Casanova is the most notorious seducer of women in history, and if you read The Story of My Life, you will understand an aspect of this man that is all too often over looked, and that is, he more often than not loved the women he seduced, and in some cases, remained in love with them for the rest of his relatively long life. In other words, he cared about women, respected them, idolized them and ensured that the pleasures they gained from these liaisons, exceeded his. He used women but he also loved them. The book is written in a flowing style, descriptive to the point where the reader gains almost a visceral impression of 18th century Europe. Casanova's escape from the Venetian prison, for example, has all the suspense and realism of our modern thrillers. I could almost hear his finger nails scraping against the prison walls as he descended, sliding down in the dead of night during his escape. In his meeting with Voltaire, the gnome-like genius came to life, as they discussed the state of literature and the greatest poets of the ages. And, of course, the many beautiful women, his conquests and those that seduced him, fill every chapter - tasteful eroticism without the slightest hint of vulgarity. Casanova was an adventurer in love and life and he ensured he did not waste a minute of it. Casanova wanted to be remembered as a man of letters, in the 18th century sense of this term. And with The Story of My Life, he certainly achieved this aim, as scholars from around the world have acknowledged. He also wanted to be remembered as a man who loved women, and to this end, there is no question. Those that love intrigue, eroticism, a little pomp and circumstance, and swashbuckling adventure, read this incredible memoir - a pleasure in every sense.