History of My Life

The last two volumes of Casanova's account of his extraordinary life include the story of his imprisonment in Buen Retiro, his trip to Madrid and his affair with Doña Ignacia, his journey to Barcelona and his detention in the Tower, his encounter with Lord Baltimore, and his serious illness in Aix-en-Provence when he is taken care of by a mysterious woman who turns out to the servant of one of his first loves, Henriette.

About the author

Giacomo Casanova was born in Venice in 1725. His parents, both actors, wanted him to become a priest, but their hopes were dashed when, at sixteen, he was expelled from seminary for immoral misconduct. Probably best-known for his reputation as a womanizer, Casanova was in turn a secretary, a soldier in the Venetian army, a preacher, an alchemist, a gambler, a violinist, a lottery director, and a spy. He translated Homer's Iliad into Italian and collaborated with Da Ponte on the libretto for Mozart's Don Giovanni. He retired in 1785 to the castle of a friend—Count Waldstein of Bohemia—in order to write his memoirs.

Summary

This double volume is the final part of Venetian Casanova's memoirs, translated from the French between 1966 and 1971. His rich and varied life is recalled in an unabridged work which also includes notes on the social, biographical and geographical background of its genesis.

Product details

• Authors: Giacoma Casanova, Giacomo Casanova, Giacomo Chevalier de Seingalt Casanova
• Assisted by: Willard R. Trask (Translation)
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 17.07.1997
• EAN: 9780801856679
• ISBN: 978-0-8018-5667-9
• No. of pages: 864
• Series: History of My Life; History of My Life
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Biographies, autobiographies; Europa, Literatur: Geschichte und Kritik, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary, LITERARY CRITICISM / European / General, Biography / Autobiography