'Like a siren seated on the rocks of Capri, or a fabulously plumed bird of paradise shimmering in the grandest salon, the Marchesa Casati was the most extraordinary of the self-styled femmes fatales. Now, at last, we have a book which captures the legend; this engrossing study of the divine Luisa unfolds the fascinating story of her bizarre, baroque life in riveting detail.' 

 

– Stephen Calloway, Curator, Victoria & Albert Museum

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'The Marchesa Luisa Casati wanted to be a living work of art...for the first three decades of the twentieth century, she succeeded...A meticulously researched biography, Infinite Variety is as much art history as chronicle of personal obsession.' 

 

– Leslie Chess Feller, New York Times

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'Messrs Ryersson and Yaccarino must be congratulated on having disinterred Casati's bizarre and fascinating story. Their account, written in an appropriately rococo style, dwells lovingly on all the most extravagant aspects of Luisa's career.' 

 

– Selina Hastings, Literary Review

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'Casati set about transforming herself into the world's most amazing woman. She succeeded brilliantly. Weird and wonderful...both scary and hypnotic.' 

 

– Colin McDowell, Sunday Times of London

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'This is a book about an extravagant, eccentric, bizarre and truly original phenomenon, my grandmother. Scot D. Ryersson and Michael Orlando Yaccarino have researched their subject with depth and thoroughness, without which this book could easily have been thought to be fiction. They have brought to life a true feeling of the Belle Époque and the extraordinary, exotic, outlandish character of La Casati. It is a bizarre story, and this telling of it shows a love and affection for the subject that she would certainly have recognized [for Spectator]...And as for Infinite Variety-The Definitive Edition (2004), the authors' constant research and dedication to Luisa's memory and life is truly wonderful. I enjoyed it enormously.'

 

– Lady Moorea Black

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'This story of [the Marchesa Casati's] life and of Europe at the dawning of modernity is fascinating. She is a character who appeals to the contemporary reader because of her courage and self-creation. Her story is captivating.' 

 

– Kirkus Review UK

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'The authors impress with the care and accuracy they have taken to retrace the grandeur, the follies and the decadence of the extraordinary Marchesa Casati.' 

 

– Maurice Druon, author of La volupté d'être (The Film of Memory) and La Contessa

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'Exhaustively researched for the first time, the Marchesa Casati's life is explored through numerous accounts and first-hand interviews by the authors. Infinita Varietá reveals this extraordinary story in exquisitely colourful, almost cinematic sequences' 

 

– Mirella Appiotti, La Stampa

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'With Die göttliche Marchesa, the authors succeed masterfully in bringing La Casati to life again with an exciting and extremely informative biography about a fascinating personality.' 

 

– Sonja Kolb, Associated Press (Frankfurt/Main)

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'Ryersson and Yaccarino are judicious historians of frivolity who capture the tone of a life that was obscenely profligate yet strangely pure.' 

 

– Judith Thurman, National Book Award winning author of Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette, for The New Yorker

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'Never before has there been a biography on the Divine Marquise. Now, here it is–written with so much passion, La Casati is filled with testimonies of the period and the most fabulous anecdotes.' 

 

– Laurence Mouillefarine, Le Figaro Madame (Paris)

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'The fabled Marchesa Casati was the "dark lady" of her day. The gap on the shelf where her biography always should have been is now magnificently filled by Ryersson and Yaccarino with one of the most amazing stories of our time.' 

 

– Sheridan Morley, Drama Critic, International Herald Tribune

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'I am hard-pressed to think of anyone cooler than Marchesa Casati (she wore live snakes as jewelry, for goodness sake!). It's hard to imagine a biography that does justice to her incredible life, but this one does.' 

 

– Amanda Brooks, author of I Love Your Style

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'Infinite Variety is a thoroughly unbiased and well-researched biography. The "Definitive Edition" includes a plethora of new information as well as artwork and photos. Thanks to the efforts of Ryersson and Yaccarino, the story of the Marchesa Casati, with all its splendor, will continue to astonish.' 

 

– Jonathan Williams, Gothic Beauty

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'This magnificently illustrated book is executed with the most exquisite taste.' 

 

– Natalia Kochetkova, Le Figaro Madame (Russia)

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'The Marchesa Luisa Casati is one of the most evocative figures to emerge from turn-of-the-twentieth century Europe. And with the 2004 worldwide publication of Infinite Variety, readers can follow Casati's extraordinary life from her withdrawn childhood to her infamous days of nude midnight strolls with diamond-collared cheetahs...Memerizing and revealing, Infinite Variety is the definitive account of the Italian femme scandaleuse. A great glimpse, and more, into the life of a larger-than-life individual.' 

 

– Mar Yvette, Clear

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'Meticulously researched, this refreshing read unmasks a legendary woman. It promises to breathe new life into the Casati myth, making her a contemporary icon.' 

 

– Kim Langley, Vogue Australia