Arena Season 1, Episode 524

Casanova · BBC Four · Monday, December 20

The legendary 18th-century lover has been immortalised in books, films and on television, but are these fictionalised accounts historically accurate? Novelist Josephine Hart investigates the truth behind the many myths surrounding this enigmatic figure, and finds that, during his lifetime, he was famed for much more than sexual exploits. She provides evidence that Casanova was a charming man with a razor wit and fluent in three languages. Not only that, but he was also an astrologer, Freemason, businessman, writer, winner and loser of fortunes, and, last but not least, prison escapee.