The Woman Who Shot Mussolini - Hardcover

Saunders, Frances Stonor

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805091211 ISBN 13: 9780805091212

Publisher: Metropolitan Books, 2010

Synopsis

The astonishing untold story of a woman who tried to stop the rise of Fascism and change the course of history

At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 7, 1926, a woman stepped out of the crowd on Rome’s Campidoglio Square. Less than a foot in front of her stood Benito Mussolini. As he raised his arm to give the Fascist salute, the woman raised hers and shot him at point-blank range. Mussolini escaped virtually unscathed, cheered on by practically the whole world. Violet Gibson, who expected to be thanked for her action, was arrested, labeled a “crazy Irish spinster” and a “half-mad mystic”—and promptly forgotten.

Now, in an elegant work of reconstruction, Frances Stonor Saunders retrieves this remarkable figure from the lost historical record. She examines Gibson’s aristocratic childhood in the Dublin elite, with its debutante balls and presentations at court; her engagement with the critical ideas of the era—pacifism, mysticism, and socialism; her completely overlooked role in the unfolding drama of Fascism and the cult of Mussolini; and her response to a new and dangerous age when anything seemed possible but everything was at stake.

In a grand tragic narrative, full of suspense and mystery, conspiracy and backroom diplomacy, Stonor Saunders vividly resurrects the life and times of a woman who sought to forestall catastrophe, whatever the cost.

About this title

Product Description

Unusual book

Review

"Saunders masterfully sketches the European aesthetic and intellectual ferment that followed World War I....She recounts all this with a dry wit, even a jauntiness, that contributes mightily to the book's pleasures." --"The""Cleveland Plain Dealer"

"A tour de force informed by the author's keen understanding of the social and political issues that galvanized the times. Moreover, Saunders's knowledge---and use---of English literature to animate Gibson's story gives it an elegance, depth, and sensibility that would have eluded less competent biographers." --"Minneapolis"" Star Tribune"

"Superb...poignant...Its wit and modesty make the book a beguiling detective story and, as such, a meditation on the limits of biography....Saunders writes with a clarity of purpose, an eloquence, and a satiric edge that refresh and astonish." --"The Nation"

"Absorbing...Saunders tells Violet's story with sympathy and insight. Her research unearths several gems." --"Financial Times" (UK)

Saunders masterfully sketches the European aesthetic and intellectual ferment that followed World War I .She recounts all this with a dry wit, even a jauntiness, that contributes mightily to the book's pleasures. "The Cleveland Plain Dealer"

A tour de force informed by the author's keen understanding of the social and political issues that galvanized the times. Moreover, Saunders's knowledge---and use---of English literature to animate Gibson's story gives it an elegance, depth, and sensibility that would have eluded less competent biographers. "Minneapolis Star Tribune"

Superb...poignant...Its wit and modesty make the book a beguiling detective story and, as such, a meditation on the limits of biography....Saunders writes with a clarity of purpose, an eloquence, and a satiric edge that refresh and astonish. "The Nation"

Absorbing Saunders tells Violet's story with sympathy and insight. Her research unearths several gems. "Financial Times (UK)""

"Saunders masterfully sketches the European aesthetic and intellectual ferment that followed World War I....She recounts all this with a dry wit, even a jauntiness, that contributes mightily to the book's pleasures." --The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"A tour de force informed by the author's keen understanding of the social and political issues that galvanized the times. Moreover, Saunders's knowledge---and use---of English literature to animate Gibson's story gives it an elegance, depth, and sensibility that would have eluded less competent biographers." --Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Superb...poignant...Its wit and modesty make the book a beguiling detective story and, as such, a meditation on the limits of biography....Saunders writes with a clarity of purpose, an eloquence, and a satiric edge that refresh and astonish." --The Nation

"Absorbing...Saunders tells Violet's story with sympathy and insight. Her research unearths several gems." --Financial Times (UK)

About this edition

• Publisher: Metropolitan Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0805091211
• ISBN 13: 9780805091212
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 380