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melolivia17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
smittenforfiction's review against another edition
2.0
I received an advanced copy in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you to the publisher, author, and Edelweiss for allowing me to review.
Caroline Moorehead uses letters, family interviews, and photographs to tell the story of the Rosselli family and their courageous actions during the first three decades of the 20th Century. Amelia, a girl who grew up in Venice, triumphed through many hardships to raise her three sons who grew up to become extremely involved in Italian politics. They refused to allow Mussolini and his squaddristi to deter them from standing up to fascism, which ultimately had an enormous impact on Italian history.
Amelia was born in Venice January 1870. She had an extremely lonely and tough childhood. After her father's death Amelia moved to Rome with her mother when she was 15. She met her future husband Giuseppe Rosselli in Rome when she was 19. She gave birth to her son Aldo in 1895, Carlo in 1899, and her third son Sabatino (Nello) in 1900. In 1903 Amelia moved to Florence with her sons after Giuseppe and Amelia separated. She spent her time writing poems, short stories, and articles for magazines. As an extremely vigilant mother she was sometimes perceived as harsh. In 1911 Giuseppe fell ill, Amelia went to look after him until his death later that year.
There was incredible political tension in Florence at this time. Amelia became extremely involved with fighting for women's rights, in particular education. In May 1915 Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, and Amelia's son Aldo left to join the war. Sadly he died and she opened a home for children of soldiers who had no mothers and named it after her son, La Casina di Aldo. Her other sons Carlo and Nello went to war, thankfully both returned safely in 1920.
Benito Mussolini took advantage of a broken Italy, created the Fascist Party in 1919, and a military unit called "The Black Shirts" to silence anti-fascists like the Rosselli brothers. Moorehead provides a detailed account of the action-reaction relationship between Mussolini and the Rosselli family over the next two decades. I had never heard of the Rosselli family before reading this book, and am grateful to have gained that knowledge.
My favourite part of the book was reading about Amelia. The book started with her being the star of the story, but as her sons become more involved with politics her thoughts and actions become less visible. This book is obviously well-researched, and it should have interested someone with a minor in history, but I was often bored and feel like it would have been better if useless information was omitted. I debated not finishing this book, which is something I don't do very often (there are only maybe 2 or 3 books that I started and haven't finished). It was the title that drew my attention and made me think this would be an exciting historical account of a "dangerous" family, but in actuality it's extremely dry and academic.
That being said, I do feel like there are many readers who would love to learn more about the Rosselli family and their impact on Italian history. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy WWI and WWII history, especially if you're interested in learning more about Italian political history during that time period.
For more book reviews check out my blog: https://amandadroverhartwick.wordpress.com/
Caroline Moorehead uses letters, family interviews, and photographs to tell the story of the Rosselli family and their courageous actions during the first three decades of the 20th Century. Amelia, a girl who grew up in Venice, triumphed through many hardships to raise her three sons who grew up to become extremely involved in Italian politics. They refused to allow Mussolini and his squaddristi to deter them from standing up to fascism, which ultimately had an enormous impact on Italian history.
Amelia was born in Venice January 1870. She had an extremely lonely and tough childhood. After her father's death Amelia moved to Rome with her mother when she was 15. She met her future husband Giuseppe Rosselli in Rome when she was 19. She gave birth to her son Aldo in 1895, Carlo in 1899, and her third son Sabatino (Nello) in 1900. In 1903 Amelia moved to Florence with her sons after Giuseppe and Amelia separated. She spent her time writing poems, short stories, and articles for magazines. As an extremely vigilant mother she was sometimes perceived as harsh. In 1911 Giuseppe fell ill, Amelia went to look after him until his death later that year.
There was incredible political tension in Florence at this time. Amelia became extremely involved with fighting for women's rights, in particular education. In May 1915 Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, and Amelia's son Aldo left to join the war. Sadly he died and she opened a home for children of soldiers who had no mothers and named it after her son, La Casina di Aldo. Her other sons Carlo and Nello went to war, thankfully both returned safely in 1920.
Benito Mussolini took advantage of a broken Italy, created the Fascist Party in 1919, and a military unit called "The Black Shirts" to silence anti-fascists like the Rosselli brothers. Moorehead provides a detailed account of the action-reaction relationship between Mussolini and the Rosselli family over the next two decades. I had never heard of the Rosselli family before reading this book, and am grateful to have gained that knowledge.
My favourite part of the book was reading about Amelia. The book started with her being the star of the story, but as her sons become more involved with politics her thoughts and actions become less visible. This book is obviously well-researched, and it should have interested someone with a minor in history, but I was often bored and feel like it would have been better if useless information was omitted. I debated not finishing this book, which is something I don't do very often (there are only maybe 2 or 3 books that I started and haven't finished). It was the title that drew my attention and made me think this would be an exciting historical account of a "dangerous" family, but in actuality it's extremely dry and academic.
That being said, I do feel like there are many readers who would love to learn more about the Rosselli family and their impact on Italian history. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy WWI and WWII history, especially if you're interested in learning more about Italian political history during that time period.
For more book reviews check out my blog: https://amandadroverhartwick.wordpress.com/
gh7's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not a great fan of biographies. The conventional biography is a tired old cart horse. The formula needs overhauling. Something AJA Symons did with his biography of Baron Corvo and Laurent Binet took up with his book about Heydrich. But for the most part the formula still remains unchanged from the days Virginia Woolf wanted it remade and remodelled. It's nice to have some biographical information about people who interest you - usually a few pages are sufficient for me - but too often I get bored with the inevitable long winded accounts of grandfathers and grandmothers, of childhoods and the domesticity of family life and irritated by the constructions the biographer puts on a life. Most of it information destined to end up in the mind's trash folder.
A biography becomes more interesting when it helps us to understand a moment of history. This is certainly the case here. Thankfully the author broadens her canvas to depict a more comprehensive picture of Italian anti-fascist activities and the machinations of Mussolini's secret police in the years leading up to Italy's pact with Nazi Germany than focusing exclusively on the two Rosselli brothers. It's a slow starter of a book but very well researched and written and by a third of the way in becomes a truly gripping story. Essentially the story of the courage displayed by a few individuals in the face of state terrorism and widespread complacent or craven capitulation.
A biography becomes more interesting when it helps us to understand a moment of history. This is certainly the case here. Thankfully the author broadens her canvas to depict a more comprehensive picture of Italian anti-fascist activities and the machinations of Mussolini's secret police in the years leading up to Italy's pact with Nazi Germany than focusing exclusively on the two Rosselli brothers. It's a slow starter of a book but very well researched and written and by a third of the way in becomes a truly gripping story. Essentially the story of the courage displayed by a few individuals in the face of state terrorism and widespread complacent or craven capitulation.
june_englit_phd's review against another edition
5.0
This is a very riveting and informative book, blending Italian history – particularly the rise and fall of fascism – with a detailed biography of the Rosselli family, and their mission to combat the fascist uprising. Having been in possession of very little knowledge of this subject area, I finished the book feeling that I have learned a lot, not only about the family that the book focuses on, but also about Italian and European history during the twentieth century. Moorehead’s language is easily understandable, and – particularly when describing the islands the convicts are despatched to (il confino) – poetic. Although she occasionally hones in on minute details, slowing the pace of the narrative almost to the point of tedium - it is effective in drawing the reader into the text and to get as accurate an impression of characters and events as possible. These details, along with the accompanying photographs, made the characters very relatable; by the end I had become quite fond of matriarch Amelia, admiring her strength and capability despite several family tragedies. I personally rate books on quality if, once I put the book down, I feel as if I have been transported to the world portrayed by the author; this was definitely the case with this book. There were suspense-inducing hooks too, which kept me reading (thereby sacrificing outside activities!) and I finished the book in one day. It is also the kind of storyline which one could imagine being turned into a silver screen blockbuster.
As mentioned earlier, the only negative thing about the book would be the minute details that the author records, but I think they enhance its memorability. In its addressing the issues of ethnic cleansing and foreign identity, as well as the undercurrent of ‘making Italy great again’ by re-installing former gender roles and other traditional customs, the book also scarily carries relevance to global politics today.
So, in a nutshell, this is an exciting but poignant history/biography. Although the fine detail can get a little irksome, ‘”non mollare”’ – don’t give up. It is well worth finishing.
As mentioned earlier, the only negative thing about the book would be the minute details that the author records, but I think they enhance its memorability. In its addressing the issues of ethnic cleansing and foreign identity, as well as the undercurrent of ‘making Italy great again’ by re-installing former gender roles and other traditional customs, the book also scarily carries relevance to global politics today.
So, in a nutshell, this is an exciting but poignant history/biography. Although the fine detail can get a little irksome, ‘”non mollare”’ – don’t give up. It is well worth finishing.
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