History of My Life (Everyman Library Classics) [Hardcover]

i became interested in casanova after his famous and daring escape from prison was explained to me during a tour of the doges palace in venice. i found on reading it that the book is much more than a life: it is an extended observation and commentary on the mores of european elites in the middle of the 18th century.

the complete english translation by willard trask has been edited to about half its length for this everyman edition, but all deleted passages are briskly summarized by the editor, peter washington. all casanova's major exploits, including the prison break and his principal seductions, are here in full; there is a useful editorial introduction, a serviceable index (proper names are included, but key topics such as "gambling" or "casino" are not), and exhaustive endnotes.

casanova is a marvelous human paradox: a "sensation seeking" risk taker who prided himself on his reason and intelligence; a freethinking skeptic of religion who nevertheless believed in the necessity of religion and the psychological benefits of prayer; a literary scholar who practiced medicine on the fly; a cheat, liar and seducer who prided himself on his honor; an enlightenment denier of superstition who nevertheless practiced cabalistic incantations and dark arts; a man of whim and impulse who claimed never to have abandoned his duty, at least when he had one. as a writer he has a fabulous ear for dialog, wit and characteristic speech, and the book is filled with memorable characters, humble and great, rich and poor, famous and incidental.

casanova lived at a time when the institutions of nobility and clergy were rupturing under the weight of their own immoraity and arbitrary power. this book makes very clear that his amorous and duplicitous escapades were really acts of defiance against the moral authority of church and state--a sustained campaign "against fools," as he puts it. hogarth's prints, fielding's novels and voltaire's screeds are kin in spirit. to give one intricate example of hypocrisy run amok: casanova seduces and "marries" with promises a teenage girl, who is clapped into a nunnery. a young nun at the same convent -- daughter of a noble family, atheist and mistress of the french ambassador to venice -- seduces casanova's "wife" into a lesbian affair and becomes enamored of casanova himself. she initiates a liaison with him into which her ambassador lover and casanova's "wife" are drawn as a "ménage à quatre". the frenchman later becomes a bishop in the church; but casanova is clapped into prison because he seduces a married woman who is also lusted after by one of the venetian grand inquisitors, who wield unchallenged powers. across many similar escapades, frauds and exploits one becomes starkly aware of the institutional and cultural decay that were widespread in the 18th century, and shaped the resentments that erupted in the french and american revolutions.

the translation by willard trask is excellent, and there is hardly one page in the 1100 that is not hair raising or jaw dropping for its picture of human conduct and human character. despite his protestations of honor and intelligence casanova is candid about his own decadence and stupidity -- written, as he says, so that others may laugh with him at his life. his honesty may have led posterity to heap the sins of the century on his head, but the book makes clear that he was at best a slippery and cheerful swimmer in a very polluted sea.

My introduction to Casanova was in Paris of the sixties as a young Canadian student at the Sorbonne. At that time, Tante Ivette, the general's wife was imposing a rule of high morals in Paris. Not all books were always available, even on the Left Bank. However, one day while meandering through the Librairie Joseph Gibert on Boulevard St. Michel, I found there a Hachette Collection du Flambeau edition of a' Histoire de ma vie par Jacques Casanova'. Needless to say, I was in ecstasy, but knowing the rules, also a bit sheepish. I took it to checkout and put it in front of the salesclerk. He looked at the book then gave me a stare of wild amazement.I believed I was to be shipped out straight to French Guianna's Cayenne Islands. Monsieur, je ne peux pas vous permettre d'acheter. I interrupted with a quick snap in english " but I am Canadian". A brief 'bon' was all I heard and the book was mine. I highly recommend Casanova to every man. To read it is to have an education in the humanities of the highest order. There is no one like him to introduce the pre revolutionary 18th century to the reader. In our times, most will know him as the complete seducer of women. Almost right. He loved woman, as women loved him. Above all and in all, he was a true gentleman. Read him then and know his charm. Out of learning evil is not bred, nor virtue found in all who are unread.

The Everyman's Library edition of Casanova is abridged from the original, and the Amazon.com description does not note the fact.