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Presentation of the book A BOLD AND DANGEROUS FAMILY by CAROLINE MOOREHEAD

The Istituto Italiano di Cultura is pleased to support the launch of the book A Bold and Dangerous Family by Caroline Moorehead (Penguin Random House). The author will be present.

ABOUT THE BOOK.

‘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… . It feels like the book she was born to write’ Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Guardian

“I had a house: they destroyed it. I had a newspaper: they closed it. I had a university chair: I was forced to abandone 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

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.

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. She is currently working on a book about women partisans in the valleys about Turin. The author lives in London, UK.

 

 

  • Organizzato da: Istituto Italiano di Cultura
  • In collaborazione con: Penguin Random House