Ian Kelly attempts to answer that question in this new book Casanova: Actor Lover Priest Spy .
According to the NYT: He was a linguist, writer, poet, librettist, philosopher, notary, translator, lawyer, military officer, duelist, gourmand, healer, mathematician, bibliophile, government informer, theater manager, pimp, violinist, matchmaker, cabalist, wit. Whew! All this and the perpetual skirt-chasing, a pursuit Casanova lifted to a high art. Did they simply have more time in the 18th century, or just no TV?
The product description reads:
In Casanova, noted author Ian Kelly traces the life of Giacomo Casanova, a man whose very name is synonymous with sensuality, seduction, and sexual prowess. But Casanova was more than just a great lover, he was also a businessman, diplomat, spy, and philosopher. The author of more than twenty books, including a translation of The Iliad, in his lifetime he visited every European capital city (and was expelled from many). Confidant of many infamous charactersincluding Madame de Pompadour, Voltaire, and Catherine the Great Casanova was undoubtedly charismatic. But how exactly did he seduce himself into infamy?
In this richly drawn portrait, Casanova emerges as very much a product of eighteenth-century Venice. He reveled in its commedia dellarte and Kelly posits that his successes as both a libertine and a libertarian grew from his careful study of its artifice and illusion. Food, travel, sex: Casanovas great passions are timeless ones, and Kelly brilliantly brings to life in full flavor the grandeur of his exploits, while also articulating the fascinating personal philosophy that inspired the adventurers quest to bed all manner of women.
A riveting look at the life of the most legendary lover of all timethis is destined to become the definitive biography of Giacomo Casanova.
Tarcher, 416 pages. Read the NYT review here .
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