Conversations with Casanova

Imagined by one of the world's leading experts on Casanova, this fictionalised conversation presents the essential biography of history's most famous lover.

A quiet chat with Casanova turns into a catalogue of racy encounters set in 18th-century Venice and other cities ... and we can even ask questions! You'll find out just how he got himself both in and out of some extremely sticky situations, from debt and imprisonment, to confrontations with jealous husbands and even heartbreak.

Renowned as a great lover and seducer, Casanova was far more than a bed hopping rake. He founded the world's first national lottery, discussed theories of taxation with Frederick the Great, debated the merits of the Gregorian calendar with Catherine the Great, talked theology with Pope Clement XIII, lectured on Horace and Homer, and gave a public recital of his own poem on the Passion of the Christ. He was also an accomplished swindler, an extraordinary wit, a brilliant philosopher, a formidable duellist, and a notable spy.

The impressive scale of Casanova's many gifts - and vices - is brought brilliantly to life in this innovative biography. A concise biographical essay is followed by a scintillating dialogue that is as historically rigorous as it is entertaining. As Dita Von Teese says in her Foreword: "In my most amorous fantasies, I spend languid days and glittering nights with a true 'Casanova'-- a man with a heartfelt passion for life, a thirst for knowledge and adventure, and of course a lust for refined romance." Be seduced by this brilliant book.Derek Parker is a former chairman of the Society of Authors and a well-known biographer, critic and broadcaster. His books include The Compleat Astrologer (with Julia Parker) and numerous biographies, including those of Casanova, Byron, John Donne, William Lilly, Voltaire and Benvenuto Cellini.