Customer Reviews

History of My Life, Vols. 7 & 8

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Things to know about "Histoire de Ma Vie"

1) It is long. 3600 pages in total and he only got up to age 49. He lived another 25 years, though his last years were not happy.
2) He holds nothing back. It is all there. No vulgarities, but if what he is saying is true, he did some things that, to 21st century eyes, are still pretty shocking (Donna Lucrezia).
3) It really does give you the length and breadth of the 18th century and you will try to find the painting of the execution of Louis XV's failed asassin to see if you can find the window Casanova and his friends were watching from (heh heh to all those who have read THAT part of the book)
4) Was he telling the truth? There are quite a few commentaries on Casanova. I think the best is by John Masters, because he is funny and includes a lot of pictures (Mrs. Cornelys, Mme d'Urfe, Comte de St. Germaine the prison tons of others, but alas, no Henriette) Also good is a slim book by the Austrian essayist Stefan Zweig. Most of the more recent commentaries didn't do much for me.

Getting through them all is a big commitment, but it is far more entertaining than you can imagine. Start today.

Casanova's life was amazing, with enough adventure and intrigue to fill... well... volumes and volumes of text. Unfortunately, that's exactly what he decided to do, and while much of it is interesting and involving, after a while I just kept saying 'how much longer does this go on?' Certainly worth reading, but pace yourself or your head will go numb.