New bio shows more to Casanova than lover

Casanova is known today for being the world’s most legendary lover and libertine, but a new biography suggests he was a much more complex man than his reputation would indicate. Written by acclaimed biographer, historian and actor Ian Kelly, “Cassanova” was published earlier this year in Britain to rave reviews and will be available this month in America.

Giacomo Girolamo Casanova was born in Venice in 1725. By 1750, after training as a clergyman, he worked at various times as a secretary, soldier and violinist. He was imprisoned in 1755 for being a magician, but escaped and spent the next two decades wandering around Europe meeting some of the most important men and women of his time.

According to Kelly, Casanova was a sickly child, shunned by his actress mother and sent off to live in squalor. He overcame his humble beginnings by drawing upon his superior intelligence, wit and charm. Kelly builds a convincing case that Casanova was a man of great depth and extraordinary talents and was, in every sense of the term, a Renaissance man, expert at mathematics, writing, languages and law. His autobiography, first published in its entirety in 1960, is 4,000 pages in length and was an extraordinary achievement.

Casanova’s reputation as a lover is intriguing, since he was not handsome in a conventional way. As Kelly points out, Casanova was not a stereotypical misogynist, but rather a man who had sincere affection for the women he seduced. For example, he helped many of his lovers financially and even protected their identities by giving them aliases in his published works.

This is a surprisingly good book. The research is first-rate and the subject irresistible. Drawing on several previously unpublished documents by Casanova, as well as accounts by his friends and lovers, Kelly has done a superb job of presenting the man behind the myth.