Casanova: His Known and Unknown Life

by Guy Endore

Here is the first biography of Casanova, "the king of all adventurers," the great gallant of the Eighteenth Century. Liar, forger, cardsharp, adulterer, seducer, he had only his wits to protect him from unmasking - and the resultant imprisonment and poverty. Yet in the midst of his ruthless existence he found time to be, also, a student to the humanities, a philosopher, dramatist and poet. His Memoirs, famous through they are, have been unavailable to all but a few, and cover but a portion of his career. Mr. Endore has undertaken to sift out the falsehood in the Memoirs, fill in their hiatuses, and complete the life-story, basing it upon the latest available sources. So amazing was the life of this paradoxical gentlemen that a generation after his death the world refused to believe he had ever existed. He became a rakehelly myth. Mr. Endore has restored him to his rightful place in history, at the same time preserving the picturesque and flavorsome aspects of his nature.

440 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Samuel Guy Endore (4 July 1900 - 12 February 1970), born Samuel Goldstein and also known as Harry Relis, was a novelist and screenwriter. During his career he produced a wide array of novels, screenplays, and pamphlets, both published and unpublished. A cult favorite of fans of horror, he is best known for his novel The Werewolf of Paris which occupies a significant position in werewolf literature, much in the same way that Dracula does for fans of vampires.
He was nominated for a screenwriting Oscar for The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), and his novel Methinks the Lady . . . (1946) was the basis for Ben Hecht's screenplay for Whirlpool (1949).

Reviews

[Bill Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guy Endore's first book is a masterful account of the life and works of Casanova, written with wit and careful in its examination of memoirs written by the consummate unreliable autobiographer. More than just a recounting of the "facts" of Casanova's life, Endore takes the time to examine the historical traces left by those who knew Casanova and the differences between what Casanova wrote and what (probably) actually happened.

I'm among the crowd who believe that our knowledge of the 18th Century in Europe would be vastly poorer without the memoirs so this is a perfect way to revisit the stories of magic, mischief, intrigue, and seduction spun by an old rake who knew --and ultimately alienated -- practically everyone worth knowing while living his life in the world of adventurers and scoundrels. Absolutely recommended.

[W. Ganley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Casanova! — his very name suggests erotic, even shameful material… but no way. The descriptions of his love affairs are not detailed enough to be even slightly pornographic. Once, many years ago, I myself read his memoirs, and was surprised to find them nothing like Frank Harris ("My Life and Loves"), or even Playboy. This particular volume by Guy Endore analyzes his memoirs to try to determine what is real and what is fictitious… using the published work of dozens of previous researchers, in addition to letters he wrote in later life (years after the memoirs ended). Casanova made his name as a mad lover, but he was much more… a philosopher, a writer, a gambler, a charlatan, and altogether a very fascinating character. His arguments with Voltaire are just one example of the interesting items found herein. Hard to believe someone like that existed. Clearly, Guy Endore himself was fascinated... he must have spent a long time preparing and writing this book, whereas he could have used that time and energy to write a dozen novels as marketable as his "Werewolf of Paris."