Book review: When the Dust Settles by Lucy Easthope
Easthope’s memoir of her experiences as a disaster manager is ‘gripping and filled with compassion’

We tend to think of the 18th century Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova as an “irresistible rake”, said Laura Freeman in The Times. But according to Leo Damrosch, professor of literature at Harvard, the “charming seducer” wasn’t “that charming at all”. Casanova, he argues in this insightful biography, was a serial “abuser” whose behaviour was disturbing even by the standards of his day.
Most of what we know about Casanova comes from his “hugely priapic autobiography”, Histoire de Ma Vie, which he left behind to be published after his death in 1798, said Kathryn Hughes in The Guardian. He maintained that he never resorted to violence or coercion – and that his enjoyment of sex depended on the enjoyment of his partner – but Damrosch points out how “dodgily self-deceiving” this argument was, given the “brutal power dynamics in play”. Casanova often slept with “very young girls” who were, in effect, prostituted to him by their parents. He refused to wear a condom – or, as he put it, “envelop myself in a dead skin”. One episode in his youth, Damrosch writes, was unquestionably “gang rape”.
Although “appalled” by his subject’s behaviour, Damrosch admits to finding him captivating, said Gregory Dowling in The Wall Street Journal. Casanova travelled all over Europe, and “met everyone”, from serving maids, prostitutes and nuns to “great writers and ruling monarchs”. He recorded these meetings in his autobiography, which he wrote in “lonely old age”, when he was impotent and losing his teeth, and it remains a “remarkable” portrait of the society of his day. The “great virtue” of Damrosch’s book is that, while never losing critical distance, he captures what it was about Casanova – his “vivid presentness” and “eagerness” for life – that makes us want to keep reading about him.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Yale University Press 432pp £25; The Week Bookshop £19.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Rebrands: Bringing back the War Department
Feature Trump revives the Department of Defense’s former name
-
Supreme Court: Will it allow Trump’s tariffs?
Feature Justices fast-track Trump’s appeal to see if his sweeping tariffs are unconstitutional
-
Democrats’ strategy to woo voters for 2026: religion
The Explainer Politicians like Rob Sand and James Talarico have made a name for themselves pushing their faith
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fans
The Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'
The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painter
The Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti Gatwa
The Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source Notes
Feature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is more
Feature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more