A Bold and Dangerous Family: The Remarkable Story of an Italian Mother, Her Sons, and Their Fight Against Fascism - Softcover

Moorehead, Caroline

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345814053 ISBN 13: 9780345814050

Publisher: Random House Canada, 2017

Synopsis

From the bestselling author of A Train in Winter, the story of the Rosselli family, whose courage standing up to Mussolini's fascism helped define the path of Italy in the years between the World Wars.

"I had a house: they destroyed it. I had a newspaper: they closed it. I had a university chair: I was forced to abandon it. I had--as I still do--dreams, dignity, ideals: to defend them I was sent to prison. I had teachers: they murdered them." --Carlo Rosselli on Italy's fascist regime
     Italy's Rosselli family were members of the cosmopolitan, cultural elite in Florence at the start of the 20th century. Led by their fierce matriarch, Amelia Rosselli, they were also vocal anti-fascists. As Mussolini rose to power in Italy following WWI, the Rossellis took leading roles in the rebellion against him, a stance that few in their class would risk. And when Mussolini established a police state whose tactics grew more brutal, the Rossellis and their anti-fascist friends transformed from debaters and critics into activists.
     As punishment for their participation in revolutionary activities, the Rossellis' homestead was ransacked, one after another of their number was imprisoned, others in the family fled the country to escape a similar fate, and two were eventually assassinated on the orders of Mussolini's government. After the outbreak of WWII, Amelia fled with the remaining members of the Rosselli family to New York City. Their visas were arranged by Eleanor Roosevelt herself.
     Through the stories of these brave people and their friends, renowned historian Caroline Moorehead delivers an immersive picture of Italy in the first half of the 20th century. She reveals the rise and fall of Mussolini and his black-shirted Squadristi; the ambivalence of many prominent Italian families to Mussolini and their seduction by his promises; and the bold, fractured anti-fascist movement, so many of whose members died at Mussolini's hands. Continuing "The Resistance Quartet" she began with A Train in Winter and continued with Village of Secrets, Moorehead once again shows us the faces of those who helped the world hold on to its humanity at a time when it seemed all might be lost.

About this title

About the Author

CAROLINE MOOREHEAD is the author of the international bestsellers A Train in Winter and Village of Secrets, nominated for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction. She has also written biographies of Bertrand Russell, Freya Stark, Iris Origo, Lucie de la Tour du Pin and Martha Gellhorn. Well-known for her work in human rights, she has published a history of the Red Cross and a book about refugees, Human Cargo. The author lives in London, UK.

Review

Longlisted for the 2017 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 

“A Bold and Dangerous Family is a haunting reminder of the fragility of liberty and the dangers of complaisance.” —The Times
 
“Expertly alternating vivid domestic detail with lucid exposition of the gradual evolution of totalitarianism, Caroline Moorehead allows her readers not only to know, but also to feel, how it was to endure fascist oppression. . . . A Bold and Dangerous Family is animated by the evident admiration and affection [Moorehead] feels for her subjects. It feels like the book she was born to write.” —Lucy Hughes-Hallett, author of The Pike, The Guardian

“Lucid, readable and superbly titled biography . . . there are numerous passages that hum with life. . . . Like any good biography, A Bold and Dangerous Family is about far more than its subjects. . . . Moorehead’s portrait of the Rosselli brothers is at once a political history of pre-second world war Italy, a literary portrait of two brave young men, and a gripping tale of intrigue, espionage and escape. . . . There have been a number of fine books about the Rossellis . . . none have been this well-structured, this readable, this involved in their lives. I finished it impressed, breathless and enormously moved.” —Observer
 
“Moorehead recounts a story that deserves to [be] better known, exploiting her remarkable understanding of the nation and its culture.” —Max Hastings, The Sunday Times

“Carefully, and with considerable skill, Moorehead juxtaposes the growth into maturity of the intelligent Florentines, Carlo and Nello, with a vivid account of the turbulent conditions that enabled Fascism to take root.” —The Daily Telegraph

“A major contribution to the study of anti-Fascism, further enriched by Caroline Moorehead’s vivid portrayal of interwar Italy and Europe.” —Jonathan Keates, Literary Review

“Caroline Moorehead, a distinguished biographer and historian, tells the story of the Rosselli brothers and their mother Amelia, a playwright, with sensitivity, erudition and balance. . . . Moorehead’s book is a fine tribute.” —Financial Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Canada
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0345814053
• ISBN 13: 9780345814050
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448