Politics, Murder and Love in an Italian Family
The Amendolas in the Age of Totalitarianisms

Explores the impact of fascism, communism, and totalitarianism on modern Italy, through the prism of a single family.

R.J.B. Bosworth (Author)

9781009280174, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 February 2023

274 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 1.7 cm, 0.55 kg

'Politics, Murder and Love in an Italian Family offers new perspectives on Italian politics in the twentieth century. As always with R.J.B. Bosworth's research, it is imaginative, meticulous and exhaustive. This well-paced, engaging study crosses political, social and cultural history, reminding English-speaking readers of the peculiarities of the Italian liberal-conservative political elite, especially its Southern component, during the years of the rise of Fascism.' John Pollard, author of The Papacy in the Age of Totalitarianism, 1914–1958

What did it mean to live with fascism, communism, and totalitarianism in modern Italy? And what should we learn from the experiences of a martyred liberal democrat father and his communist son? Through the prism of a single, exceptional family, the Amendolas, R.J.B. Bosworth reveals the heart of twentieth-century Italian politics. Giovanni and Giorgio Amendola, father and son, were both highly capable and dedicated Anti-Fascists. Each failed to make it to the top of the Italian political pyramid but nevertheless played a major part in Italy's history. Both also had rich but contrasting private lives. Each married a foreign and accomplished woman: Giovanni, a woman from a distinguished German-Russian intellectual family; Giorgio, a Parisian working class girl, who, to him, embodied Revolution. This vivid and engaging biographical study explores the highs and lows of a family that was at the centre of Italian politics over several generations. Tracing the complex relationship between Anti-Fascist politics and the private lives of individuals and of the family, Politics, Murder and Love in an Italian Family offers a profound portrait of a century of Italian life.

List of figures
Preface
Introduction
Dramatis personae
1. Political violence and the Amendolas, father and son
2. The rise of Giovanni Amendola, 1882–1919: Man of liberal democratic ambition
3. Giovanni Amendola: a condottiere of pure anti-fascism?
4. Nelia Pavlova, Giovanni's last lover, convinced admirer and liberal democrat partisan
5. Giorgio Amendola 1907–43: True love and totalitarianisms (Italian-style)
6. Giorgio Amendola and a national road to socialism and the end of history
Conclusion
Afterword
Notes
Select bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD], Biography: historical, political & military [BGH]