Synopses & Reviews
In 1763, at the age of thirty-eight, Giacomo Casanova arrives in England seeking a respite from his endless travels and liaisons. Before long, though, the lure of a pretty face proves too hard to resist, and Casanova reverts to his old ways as he pursues the dazzlingly beautiful Marie Charpillon. But is he the hunter, or the hunted? Soon we see a different Casanova, a man who may himself be the quarry as Charpillon and her family focus on his fortune. Andrew Miller, whose Ingenious Pain, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, was embraced by readers and reviewers for its marvelous imagination, paints a fascinating portrait of a decadent society in which youth and beauty form a precarious but powerful currency. A poignant and often comic portrait of a complex, charismatic man, Casanova in Love confirms the presence of an outstanding new novelist.
Review
“Stylishly recounted . . . Miller's limning of London in 1763 and 1764, with its acrid stenches and incessant rains, has the picturesque grunge of a Hogarth sketch."—Newsweek
“A lush, enthralling new novel . . . Evokes Casanova's amazingly complex life and paints a scintillating, evocative, erotic portrait of the eighteenth century and one of its major figures."—Detroit Free Press
"Miller's prose is jewelled; the heritage details—clothes, streets, interiors—have a haunting, graphic sheen."—The Times Literary Supplement (London)
Synopsis
From the award-winning author of Ingenious Pain comes a poignant, witty portrait of the famed Venetian seducer, who, at the end of his life, reflects on one of its turning points: his visit to England where, at the age of thirty-eight and in need of a respite, he found himself instead driven from exhilaration to despair by an elusive young woman.
About the Author
ANDREW MILLER's first novel, Ingenious Pain, won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the International IMPAC Award. He was short-listed for the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Award for his novel Oxygen. He lives in Brighton, England.