Sandor Marai — Conversations in Bolzano

2004 Paperback, 304pp. It is midnight, October 31st 1758 and Giacomo Casanova has escaped from a Venetian prison after sixteen months consigned to darkness and the underworld. Shaking off the enforced solitude, Casanova makes his way to Bolzano - the small village where he was dealt a cruel hand. A place full of memories, Bolzano was the scene of a moonlit duel fought with the Duke of Parma - when Casanova and he were both in pursuit of the beguiling Francesca. The quest was lost and Casanova was left with three scars above his heart and one option: he could live, but only on the condition he never saw Francesca again. But now Casanova is back having secured a loan from an old friend, and is determined to win this time - whilst the Duke has an offer Casanova simply cannot refuse and that just might spell his undoing. (ISBN: 9780670915675). Good.