Book of the Week - Casanova

Benedict Cumberbatch reads from Ian Kelly's fascinating biography of the world's most famous lover and libertine

Giacomo Casanova's parents send him away from Venice for his health. When he returns, he has an unlikely career in the Church.

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Casanova's scandalous affair with a married woman becomes the talk of Rome. He embarks upon a trip to Constantinople.

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Casanova inveigles himself into the lavish court of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, where he causes something of a stir.

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Casanova finds himself rubbing shoulders with London society. He unexpectedly falls for the city's most infamous courtesan.

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Casanova attends a ball at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, but his introduction to Catherine the Great proves fruitless.

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