Casanova’s “The Story of My Life” is a cultural monument of historical and artistic value. This remarkable literary creation is undoubtedly more exciting and unpredictable than any French novel of the 18th century. “Since then, in all the world, neither poet nor philosopher has created a novel more entertaining than his life, nor an image more fantastic,” argued Stephen Zweig, who dedicated an entire essay to Casanova. “The French value Casanova even higher than Lesage,” Dostoevsky recalled. “So vividly, so figuratively he depicts the characters, faces and some events of his time, which he witnessed, and his story is so simple, so clear and entertaining!” XX century (A. Blok, A. Akhmatova, M. Tsvetaeva). Compilation, introductory article, comments by A. F. Stroev.