240px-casanova_ritratto.jpgAnd so said many, many women.

What most people don’t know is that Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) actually wrote his memoirs. And what a set of books they are! I was lucky enough to find the pbook set in yard sale a few years ago and they comprise 6 thick volumes. They have been long out of print. This excerpt from the Wikipedia article about him (see link above) will give you a taste of what they contain:

“Although best known for his prowess in seduction, he was recognized by his contemporaries as an extraordinary person. Prince Charles de Ligne, a great Austrian statesman who knew most of the prominent individuals of the age, thought that Casanova was the most interesting man he had ever met and said of him, “there is nothing in the world of which he is not capable”. Count Lamberg wrote that he knew “few persons who can equal him in the range of knowledge and, in general, of his intelligence and imagination”.

During Casanova’s numerous travels he encountered notable figures such as Pope Clement XIII, Catherine the Great, Frederick the Great (who afterwards commented on his good looks), Madame de Pompadour, Crebillon, who was also his French teacher, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, and many others. He was present at the premiere of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and possibly made last-minute revisions to the libretto. Although Casanova took the role of businessman, diplomat, spy, politician, philosopher, magician, and writer, with more than twenty books and several plays credited to his name (including a translation of the Iliad and a history of Poland — “Istoria della turbolenze della Polonia”) — most of which were generally admired — for the greater part of his life he was a stranger to work, living largely on his quick wits, luck, social charm, and the money freely given to him by others.”

The Memoirs are well written, and absolutely fascinating as both a record of the man and a description of the time in which he lived. Luckily they are available from Manybooks and also from Project Gutenberg. Arthur Machen’s translation is very well done and is quite readable. This may be because Machen was a writer, himself, and brought his literary gifts to the art of translation.

These volumes are practically unknown, but remain a true gem. Highly recommended.

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