Casanova memoires full#

The collaboration between Brockhaus and Schütz stopped in 1824, after the publication of the fifth volume. Some extracts of the translation and the first volume were published as early as 1822. Brockhaus asked Wilhelm von Schütz to translate the book into German. In 1821, it was sold to the publisher Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus. She asked her brother Carlo to quickly sell the manuscript. After the Battle of Leipzig (1813), Marcolini remembered the manuscript and offered 2500 thalers to Camilla's tutor, who judged the offer too modest and refused.Īfter some years, the recession compromised the wealth of Camilla's family. Because of the Napoleonic Wars, the climate was not favorable for publishing the memoirs of a character belonging to a past age. Carlo himself died in 1808 and the manuscript passed to his daughter Camilla. After Casanova's death, he returned to Dresden with the manuscript. Carlo Angiolini, the husband of Casanova's niece, traveled without delay from Dresden to Dux. He foresaw his death and asked for members of his family currently residing in Dresden to come and support him in his last moments. In 1797, he asked Marcolini Di Fano, minister at the Cabinet of the Saxon Court, to help him with the publication. Casanova was convinced to publish the manuscript, but chose another route. After reading at least the first three tomes of the manuscript, Charles Joseph suggested that the memoir be shown to an editor in Dresden to publish in exchange for an annuity. The Prince expressed a desire to read Casanova's memoirs, and Casanova decided to polish the manuscript before sending it to the Prince. The two of them established a mutual friendship. In 1794, Casanova met Charles Joseph, Prince de Ligne. The book comprises 12 volumes and approximately 3,500 pages (1.2 million words) covering Casanova's life from his birth to 1774.Ĭasanova allegedly wrote the first chapters of the book in 1789, during a profound illness. Following this acquisition, a new edition of the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, based on the manuscript, was published from 2013 to 2015. The manuscript is believed to contain pages not previously read or published. The manuscript is believed to have been given to Casanova's nephew, Carlo Angiolini, in 1798.

On 18 February 2010, the National Library of France purchased the 3,700-page manuscript of Histoire de ma vie for approximately €7 million (£5,750,000).

Casanova memoires full#

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). Arthur Machen used one of these inaccurate versions for his English translation published in 1894 which remained the standard English edition for many years.Īlthough 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 unexpurgated English translation was published in 1971.įrom 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. A previous, bowdlerized version was originally known in English as The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova (from the French Mémoires de Jacques Casanova) until the original version was published between 19. Histoire de ma vie ( History of My Life) is both the memoir and autobiography of Giacomo Casanova, a famous 18th-century Italian adventurer.