Was Casanova real or fictitious?

He was a real Venetian, not English, person, and a writer himself. I don’t know how much he exaggerated his own sexual exploits though.

Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt (April 2, 1725 – June 4, 1798) was a Venetian adventurer and author. His main book Histoire de ma vie (Story of My Life), part autobiography and part memoir, is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century.

IIRC, he also had an orgy with his mother and sister…

Edit: I remembered incorrectly. After accidentally seducing a girl who happened to be his daughter, her mother told Casanova, and his response was “So… Threesome??”. They obliged…

@papayalily: Please give your source.

@gailcalled The first part was just the beginning of Wikipedia.

He is real as @bolwerk and @papayalily note him. He is also a fictitious character in some of the works of Arthur Schnitzler (among others, but I think Schnitzler was the earliest as far as literature goes). There’s been a lot of art that draws from his story, but none of it is Shakespeare’s. The Bard live before Casanova.

He was real, but his exploits were colourfully portrayed primarily by himself. He had the literary skill to make these legendary activities appear humorous and frivolous, without due attention to the mental anguish such behaviour tends to incite. He ended his life embittered and miserable by all accounts, he was belligerent and violently ill tempered too according to some who knew him.

He was as real as Tucker Max is and they write in pretty much about the same things, with the same arrogance and the same level of respect for women—just their exploits are about 300 years apart. However, Tucker Max won’t be read in 300 years, that’s for sure.