Casanova in Bohemia: A Novel

Casanova in Bohemia is a historical novel depicting an aging Giacomo Casanova in Count Waldstein's Bohemian castle, where he works as a librarian. Rather than cataloging the count's book collection, Casanova devotes himself to writing and recounting his life stories to the young servant Laura Brock. He recalls his greatest adventures, including romances in a Venetian convent, the seduction of a harem, and his rise and fall of fortune in Paris. Enlivened by the French Revolution and Enlightenment ideas, Casanova demonstrates continued intellectual vigor and curiosity despite his age. The novel draws on his historical correspondence with Voltaire, discussions with Benjamin Franklin about flight, and his documented influence on artists including Mozart, Flaubert, Stendhal, and Hesse. Rich with eighteenth-century European social, political, and religious history, the novel presents Casanova as a figure whose hedonism was matched by his creativity and wit.