Casanova

Casanova

Giacomo Casanova's reputation rests largely on his obsession with women, but he was much more than the great eighteenth-century lover. Lawyer, mathematician, poet, translator, and librarian who was fluent in several languages, he was described by one contemporary as "the most civilized man in Europe." That he was also a con man, cabalist, spy, revenge-taker, and experienced prisoner only enhances his appeal as one who personified the extreme social and moral contradictions of the time. In chronicling the life of this bastard son of Venetian actors, Masters draws from Casanova's own highly expansive memoirs, unavailable until the 1960s, and shows that many of the most racy and unlikely events in his adventure-filled life story have been corroborated by fact. "Robert Whitfield offers a spirited reading of Masters' detailed biography, bringing a lively sense of fun to the tale. His performance maintains the scholarly authority of careful research, but he clearly enjoys having an outrageous tale to tell...Through subtle changes in tempo and mood, Whitfield accurately captures both the spirit of Casanova and the integrity of the author." -- "AudioFile" John Masters was born in Calcutta in 1914. He was educated at Wellington and Sandhurst before becoming the fifth generation of his family to have served in the army in India. He retired in 1948 as a lieutenant colonel and moved to America, where he turned to writing. He is best known for the novel Bhowani Junction . Masters died in New Mexico in 1983, at the age of sixty-eight. Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist 's very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.