Giacomo Casanova began writing his memoirs in approximately 1791, in the relative isolation of the Castle of Dux in Bohemia, where he served as the librarian for Josef Karl Emmanuel, Count Waldstein.
His memoires run to several volumes of gripping narrative, being considered to be the most authentic source of the European social customs of the Eighteenth Century.
Casanova's reputation preceded him as he travelled throughout the continent, and he was forced in 1767 to seek refuge in Spain. Casanova was permitted to return to Venetian territory between 1774 and 1782, but he spent his final years in the service of Count Waldstein, in Bohemia, where he died in 1798.
As was not uncommon at the time, Casanova, depending on circumstances, used more or less fictitious names, such as baron or count of Farussi (the name of his mother) or "Chevalier de Seingalt". He often signed his works "Jacques Casanova de Seingalt" after he began writing in French following his second exile from Venice.
From 1838 to 1960, all the editions of the memoirs were derived from the censored editions produced in German and French in the early nineteenth century. Arthur Machen used one of these inaccurate versions for his English translation published in 1894 which remained the standard English edition for many years.
Although Casanova was Venetian (born 2 April 1725, in Venice, died 4 June 1798, in Dux, Bohemia, now Duchcov, Czech Republic), the book is written in French, which was the dominant language in the upper class at the time. The book covers Casanova's life only through 1774, although the full title of the book is Histoire de ma vie jusqu'à l'an 1797 (History of my Life until the year 1797).
ABOUT THE SERIES
VOLUME 1 — VENETIAN YEARS
VOLUME 2 — TO PARIS AND PRISON
VOLUME 3 — THE ETERNAL QUEST
VOLUME 4 — ADVENTURES IN THE SOUTH
VOLUME 5 -- IN LONDON AND MOSCOW
VOLUME 6 — SPANISH PASSIONS
APPENDIX AND SUPPLEMENT