Sándor Márai: Vendégjáték Bolzanóban (Casanova in Bolzano)

Latest on my website: Sándor Márai‘s Sándor Márai. The story starts when Giacomo Casanova has just made his famous escape from prison in Venice. As the title tell us, he arrives in Bolzano. He is wearing rags. However, he manages to hustle money and credit, tries (not terribly successfully) to seduce the chambermaid and attracts the attention of the people of the town, particularly the women. However, Bolzano is the home of the seventy-year old Duke of Parma. The Duke and Casanova had fought a duel over a young woman, Francesca, which the Duke had easily won. The Duke now visits Casanova, aware that Francesca, now his wife, still loves Casanova. He has a proposition to make to Casanova, offering ample reward if he carries out the relatively simple task and veiled threats if he does not. However, the men had not reckoned with Francesca, very much her own woman and not one to be toyed with. Márai parodies Casanova’s own memoirs, writing in a bombastic and overblown style. The book is certainly great fun but not his best.

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