Casanova in Love — Andrew Miller

In 1763, at the age of thirty-eight, Giacomo Casanova arrives in England seeking a respite from his endless travels and liaisons. Before long, though, the lure of a pretty face proves too hard to resist, and Casanova reverts to his old ways as he pursues the dazzlingly beautiful Marie Charpillon. But is he the hunter, or the hunted? Soon we see a different Casanova, a man who may himself be the quarry as Charpillon and her family focus on his fortune. Andrew Miller, whose Ingenious Pain, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, was embraced by readers and reviewers for its marvelous imagination, paints a fascinating portrait of a decadent society in which youth and beauty form a precarious but powerful currency. A poignant and often comic portrait of a complex, charismatic man, Casanova in Love confirms the presence of an outstanding new novelist.