Submitted by Joy_S, Feb 28, 2007 05:44

Casanova was a living contradiction, but it's impossible not to be engaged by his writing and his adventures and personality. I have heard people speculate on the reasons for his huge success with women. Was he really so great in bed? Does he lie about his successes? Did he prey on the ignorance, naivety and loneliness of the women of his day? I think you only need to read him to see the effect he has on YOU as a reader first and foremost! You realize it was probably the same effect he had on the women he seduced. That's when you begin to understand what the secret of his success was, something you can't buy or consciously acquire. Casanova was one of a kind! I also agree with Rochester that Casanova's writing is a true antidote to the matronly moralizing of most other writers of his day. It's debauchery with a brain, an exquisite one.

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