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| Casanova
| | John Masters
| Giacomo Casanova's reputation rests largely on his obsession with `the mystery of exactly what was lurking between any particular woman's legs'. But he was much more than the Great 18th century lover: lawyer, mathematician, poet, translator, librarian and fluent in several languages, he was described by one contemporary as `the most civilized man in Europe'. That he was also a con-man, cabalist, spy, revenge-taker and experienced prisoner only enhances his appeal as one who personified the extreme social and moral contradictions of the time. In chronicling the life of this bastard son of Venetian actors, John masters has drawn from Casanova's own highly expansive memoirs, unavailable until the 1960s. Many of the most racy and unlikely events have been corroborated by facts: like Casanova's escape from the Doge's infamous Venice prison. Nobody had ever done that before. And nobody, in the days when the journey from London to Oxford took three days, traveled as extensively as Casanova. In one three-year period alone, he traveled over 4500 miles in his search for a certain standard of living. A standard which he found, and invariably lost again, when he became (by self-appointment) instructor in manners to popes, kings and emperors.
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