Dimensions
161 x 244 x 36mm
Teresa Cornelys, Queen of Masquerades and Casanova's Lover.
She was England's first female impresario and an international opera star. She was Casanova's friend and lover and the mother of his child. Indomitable, ingenious and fatally extravagant, Teresa Cornelys cast a spell over eighteenth-century London and influenced the course of pleasure for centuries to come.
Teresa Cornelys was born into a famous Venetian theatrical family. While still in her teens she captivated a rich and elderly senator, but turned down his offer of marriage to fall into the arms of her childhood friend, Casanova.
But it was to be the business of pleasure, rather than the pleasure of love, which was to dominate Teresa's life. In 1759, she arrived in London leaving a trail of debts and lovers across Europe. She was penniless, desperate and had a daughter to support. Within months she acquired Carlisle House, Soho Square, a sumptuous mansion in London's West End, and turned it into one of the most successful clubs of all time.
