Casanova: Actor, Lover, Priest, Spy - Ian Kelly (2008 1st Edition Hardcover)

Casanova: Actor, Lover, Priest, Spy - Ian Kelly (2008 1st Edition Hardcover)

Published by Jeremy P Tarcher & Penguin

2008 1st Edition

403 pages

Excellent / Near Mint condition

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. A businessman, diplomat, spy, and philosopher, he authored more than twenty books, including a translation of The Iliad. Confidant to many infamous charactersincluding Madame de Pompadour, Voltaire, and Catherine the GreatCasanova 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 del arte 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 brings to life in full flavor the grandeur of his exploits. He also articulates the fascinating personal philosophy that inspired Casanovas quest to bed all manner of women and also a few men.

A riveting look at the life of the most legendary lover of all time, this is destined to become the definitive biography of Giacomo Casanova.