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The Duel
Giacomo Casanova
  • Published: 16 August 2011
  • ISBN: 9781612190730
  • Imprint: RH US eBook Adult
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 144

The Duel




About This Book

It was his intention to trade a few sword-thrusts in some place or another, and get the business over with.

A sparkling new translation tells the tale of a young libertine who finds his rapier wit matched by actual rapiers.

In this autobiographical tale, a young dandy is forced to flee his hometown after falling afoul of the authorities. But sheltering in the royal court he finds treachery and insult and is even- tually positioned into a meaningless confrontation over a woman he cares nothing about. Told with debonair wit and a merciless attitude toward high society, the tale becomes a tense adventure that leads to a surprising outcome.

This Is An Enhanced eBook

This eBook contains Illuminations—additional illustrated material that expand the world of Casanova's novella through text and illustrations—at no additional charge.

"Illuminations" contains writings by Havelock Ellis - W.E. Garrett Fisher - Richard von Kraft Ebbing - Arthur Schnitzler - Arthur Symonds - Mark Twain - And the entire version of Casanova's duel as written in his personal memoirs.
 
Full-color illustrations include: Francesco Casanova - Anton Raphael Mengs - Jean-Marc Nattier - Johann Berka - 1841 map of Weehawken - "An Air Balloon Engagement" by J. Barrow - and portraits of the ten most deadly duelists.
 
Also Included: “Famous Duels, Duelists and Dueling Grounds”

  • Published: 16 August 2011
  • ISBN: 9781612190730
  • Imprint: RH US eBook Adult
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 144

About the author

Giacomo Casanova

"I saw that everything in the world that is famous and beautiful, if we rely on the descriptions and drawings of writers and artists, always loses when we go to see it and examine it up close."

Born into a family of Venetian actors, Giacomo Casanova studied for the priesthood as a young man, at a Seminary in Padua. Expelled for his licentious activities, he returned to Venice by way of a secretariship to a Cardinal in Rome - from which he was promptly fired, amid scandal.

Back in his home town, Casanova supported himself by conning the local nobility with a mixture of magic tricks, fake alchemy and vague occult mysticism. Rather too successful at this, he was convicted of witchcraft by the Inquisition in 1755, and imprisoned in the Doge's palace.

He managed to escape and flee to France, where his skill in self-publicity really began to shine. A sensationalised account of his story appeared as a pamplet which led to a sudden popularity. Styling himself 'Jacques Casanova, the Chevalier de Seingalt' he made a small fortune establishing a lottery.

This established a pattern for Casanova of travelling to a new country, re-mythologising himself and his history, making and then losing fortunes. In his time, he encountered such luminaries as Pope Clement XIII (1760), Voltaire (1760), Rousseau and Mozart (1787). His legacy was ensured by the publication of his "Histoire de Ma Vie" - a document better regarded for its portrait of the social history of the Enlightenment period in continental Europe, than for its strict biographical accuracy.
Once more impoverished, Casanova ended his days as the librarian to the Count of Waldstein in the castle of Dux, Bohemia (now Duchcov, Czech Republic). He died, aged 73, almost forgotten.

"I have lived as a philosopher, and die as a Christian."
I saw that everything in the world that is famous and beautiful, if we rely on the descriptions and drawings of writers and artists, always loses when we go to see it and examine it up close." Born into a family of Venetian actors, Giacomo Casanova studied for the priesthood as a young man, at a Seminary in Padua. Expelled for his licentious activities, he returned to Venice by way of a secretariship to a Cardinal in Rome - from which he was promptly fired, amid scandal.Back in his home town, Casanova supported himself by conning the local nobility with a mixture of magic tricks, fake alchemy and vague occult mysticism. Rather too successful at this, he was convicted of witchcraft by the Inquisition in 1755, and imprisoned in the Doge's palace. He managed to escape and flee to France, where his skill in self-publicity really began to shine. A sensationalised account of his story appeared as a pamplet which led to a sudden popularity. Styling himself 'Jacques Casanova, the Chevalier de Seingalt' he made a small fortune establishing a lottery.This established a pattern for Casanova of travelling to a new country, re-mythologising himself and his history, making and then losing fortunes. In his time, he encountered such luminaries as Pope Clement XIII (1760), Voltaire (1760), Rousseau and Mozart (1787). His legacy was ensured by the publication of his "Histoire de Ma Vie" - a document better regarded for its portrait of the social history of the Enlightenment period in continental Europe, than for its strict biographical accuracy.Once more impoverished, Casanova ended his days as the librarian to the Count of Waldstein in the castle of Dux, Bohemia (now Duchcov, Czech Republic). He died, aged 73, almost forgotten."I have lived as a philosopher, and die as a Christian.

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