Casanova made a hurried escape from Paris in 1760 after earning the wrath of eminent subjects of Louis XV for seducing their wives and daughters and cheating them of money.
The tale of the manuscript’s survival was almost as colourful as the 73-year life of the gambler, swindler, diplomat and impenitent libertine who died in exile in Bohemia in 1798. Bowdlerised, pirated versions were published across Europe from the early 19th century, mainly focusing on Casanova’s amorous exploits with 120 women and girls, including a nun.
The original book lay hidden in German vaults and was thought to have been destroyed in the bombing of Dresden in 1945 but it survived in a vault. It was first published in 1960 but has only been consulted since by a handful of scholars.
The memoirs offer one of the most sensitively observed accounts of life in Europe’s great cities. In Paris, for example, Casanova, a part-time alchemist, hobnobbed with the likes of Madame de Pompadour and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Casanova’s adventures read like action movies, with sex scenes, narrow escapes, duels, carriage chases and scams. He writes that he is offering a full honest account: “Worthy or not, my life is my subject, and my subject is my life.”
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