Seducer, gambler, necromancer, entrepreneur, wit and general bon vivant, Giacomo Casanova was not only the most notorious lover in history, but also a storyteller of the first order. His memoir describes his amorous encounters in intimate detail, from seducing a nun in an elaborate boudoir, watched by her lover, to frolicking in a bath with a beautiful girl and tricking an eccentric old lady of her jewels.