The Fortunes of Casanova and Other Stories

From a few motifs (the housebreaker overhearing something he shouldn't, the trickster tricked, etc), Sabatini works his usual magic and creates a collection of stories that keeps you happily reading, and sad (but not disappointed!) when you turn the last page--which in my mind are the best criteria for fiction. The first half presents a 'rogue's gallery' of various one or two-shot characters in historical dress with all the snazzy repartee and swashbuckling you could imagine. You have everything from a highwayman to a French revolutionary to a Muslim pirate. The second half is the 'fortunes of Casanova' proper--a connected sequence of tales fictionalizing (and Sabatini-izing) Casanova. Strangely absent from his Casanova is...well...the attractions of women. Sabatini, save for the last tale, which is a love affair gone horribly awry, focusses on more 'adventures'--escaping from a notorious and inescapable prison, exposing a false prince, and the like. Absolutely wonderful stuff, and a must-have if you're a Sabatini fan. If you're not, the only reason I can think is that you've never read him. If you like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise but wished they bathed a bit more, you will LOVE this man!

An outstanding omnibus which collects eleven of Sabatini's "lost" short stories and nine stories which are based on events from the historical Casanova's memoirs. Sabatini's short stories are masterful in their pace and ability to immediately immerse the reader in an adventure (invariably featuring a rascally hero) which ends in total satisfaction for the reader, if not the hero. The stories are all set from the 16th-18th centuries in various European locales and are shining examples of the craft of historical adventure writing.