Casanova in the Enlightenment: From the Margins to the Centre

"Casanova in the Enlightenment is a valuable and timely contribution to research on eighteenth-century history and literature – particularly subfields like autobiography and the study of libertinage as a lifestyle, a philosophy, and a literary genre. It will also expand the readership of a figure who, as the volume's subtitle suggests, has been unjustly marginalized in scholarly discussions of what the ‘Enlightenment’ was or signified."

Anne Vila, Department of French and Italian, University of Wisconsin-Madison

“Casanova is known as a seducer of women, but he was, as Stefanovska's volume reveals, much, much more. A Freemason, a letter writer, a man of science and medicine, an indefatigable social networker, and a Parisian for long periods, Casanova embodied different aspects of eighteenth-century life. Casanova in the Enlightenment updates our view of the peripatetic Venetian and should be required reading for historians, literary specialists, interdisciplinary scholars, and anyone who enjoys and seeks to understand the eighteenth century.” Kathryn Norberg, Departments of History and Gender Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

“An insightful analysis of Casanova’s sinuous itinerary between male and female identity, mirth and melancholy, solitude and sociabilities, Paris and the world, this volume encourages a re-evaluation of the stereotypes and myths attached to the figure of the famed Venetian and invites readers on a journey through time, at the heart of the eighteenth century and in its contemporary margins. As Casanova writes in his utopian novel Icosameron: ‘Time is a walk of imagination.’” Marie-Paule Pilorge, Department of French, Université de Tours