Giacomo Casanova, by Anton Raphael Mengs
Casanova, the ultimate ladies’ man; the legendary lover; author; lawyer; convict (forgery, witchcraft, unlawful gambling). The dreamboat-come-true of Melissa Rea’s feminist heroine-about-town in Conjuring Casanova. In my humble opinion, you’d never know why from the portrait above but Dr. Elizabeth Hillman, 21st Century Chicago Emergency Room doctor, has a thing for Casanova and without even trying, poof, there he is.
How I Met Melissa
A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Melissa Rea at a writing conference.
She told our small group of her Casanova idea, and ultimately, Melissa met an agent, the agent met a publisher and VOILA! the project we talked of came to life. Much like Casanova himself does in Conjuring Casanova. Melissa invited me outside and threw a handful of sparkly glitter in the air, telling me it was fairy dust for good luck. Elizabeth Hillman’s version of fairy dust brought her dreamboat to life. But both Elizabeth and her creator make me believe in magic!
Melissa Rea was kind enough to sit down with daeandwrite to answer a few questions that will make your enjoyment of Conjuring Casanova greater and add some depth for your book club’s discussion. Before I get to those, however, let me advise: this novel is hot like Casanova and not for any shrinking violets or nervous readers. There’s sex in it and by that I mean, graphic descriptions. How could it be anything less when the world’s most legendary lover is involved?
Sound like your kind of book? Read on.
Q&A With the Author
Author Melissa Rea
Q: So how did you come up with the idea for Conjuring Casanova? What is Giacomo to Melissa?
A: I was writing a saucy little three book series, which may never be read by anyone, but it takes place in the 18th century. As saucy stories go, I needed to know something about women’s underwear in the time. Like all lazy researchers I Googled, “Women’s underwear in the 18th century” The answer was, “nowhere are the details of everyday life in the eighteenth century better detailed than in the memoir of Giacomo Casanova.” I ordered the first of 12 volumes and was hooked. It was so outrageously unapologetically honest. He detailed all his success and his hideous failures with equal zest. He blamed no one for his bad luck and always took complete responsibility for his actions. The thing that made me smile was the loving delicacy with which he described his lady loves. He truly believed women worthy of his life’s pursuit and believed himself in love with nearly every one. In this misogynistic age, that was a wonder to this jaded modern gal.
Histoire de Ma Vie is 3700 pages and it took me several times to completely understand the translation of 18th century French written by an Italian. As I re-read, I began to feel like I was sharing the adventures of an old friend, albeit a rather naughty one. Through his writing I learned about the French lottery, Baroque music, the king of Poland, Italian poetry, Voltaire, Canon Law, the King of France, European geography, 18th century medicine and a wealth of other subjects. How could you not love a man that called women’s body parts, beauties and charms?I sat one day visiting with my friend through his words and the idea struck me, “What would Casanova think of modern women? More importantly, what would they think of Venice’s most famous libertine? Et voila, Conjuring Casanova was born.
Q: Did you have a playlist that you listened to while writing? For a book club, what listening selections would you suggest? (Barry White?)
A: When I write I can’t listen to anything with words. I sort of enjoyed listening to music of Casanova’s time as I conjured him. I love Vivaldi and Telemann. If you notice, all the chapter titles are pop songs from many genres of music. Each song was one I thought of as I wrote the chapters. (daeandwrite note: see below)
Q: FOOD! Let’s talk food. The food in Conjuring Casanova made me hungry every other page. Was food a big part of Casanova’s memoirs? Did you take any of the food from his memoirs specifically? Have you visited Venice? What food/menu/recipes can you share?
A: Casanova said in his memoir, that he was both an epicure and a glutton and often detailed his meals. The thing I found most surprising was the Italian Ices served for dessert, without benefit of refrigeration. He rarely cooked but was very capable especially when it furthered a seduction. I am a breakfast fan and his eggs cooked in butter with ham, is one of my favorites. The restaurants described in Conjuring Casanova were ones I visited when in Venice doing research. They had both been in operation in some form, according to the waiter, for at least 400 years so Casanova could have eaten there. The spider crab salad Lizzy ate cost 40 Euros but well worth it. My very favorite recipe in the world is Julia Childs Boeuf Bourguignon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA2ys8C-lNk . This how Casanova leaned to cook it in the book. I have rarely been able to pull it off, but of course, his was perfect.
MENU
I like Melissa’s idea of Julia Child’s beef bourguignon. But, my menu is the one straight from Conjuring Casanova that I haven’t been able to stop thinking of since I read it: crab-stuffed filet mignon, baked potato and creamed asparagus. The novel notes the filet is covered in a delicious sauce, I would use a béarnaise.
Crab Stuffing: Saute one small celery, two green onions in olive oil for one minute then add two crushed garlic cloves, cooking carefully so that the garlic doesn’t brown or burn until the onions are soft. Add 1 cup crabmeat, two tablespoons parsley and 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper.
Butterfly your filets and add the stuffing, tying the filets closed with kitchen twine. Cook steaks in a hot pan 2 minutes each side to brown, Place steaks in oven proof dish and cook in a pre-heated oven of 180 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes depending on how thick they are for a nice pink centre.
Bearnaise sauce: don’t tell anyone, but I use the mix.
MUSIC
I like Melissa’s music suggestions and I would play some Vivaldi, but I would also download Giuseppe Verdi’s I Due Foscari, an opera set in Venice.
The song titles from Conjuring Casanova:
Jaded
Lady Blue
A Little Help from My Friends
Wherever I May Roam
Leaving on a Jet Plane
Stranger in a Strange Land
Sympathy for the Devil
You’ve Got a Friend in Me
Beautiful Loser
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Love the One You’re With
Should I Stay or Should I Go
The Night Chicago Died
The Unforgiven
Homeward Bound
Just the Way You Are
Coming Home
The Letter
Life Is A Highway
Happy Reading!
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Summary
daeandwrite 