The Pike: Gabriele d'Annunzio, Poet, Seducer and Preacher of War

by Lucy Hughes-Hallett

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THE TIMES BIOGRAPHY OF THE DECADE

WINNER OF THE 2013 SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION

WINNER OF THE 2013 COSTA BOOK AWARDS BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR

The story of Gabriele D'Annunzio, poet, daredevil - and Fascist.

In September 1919 Gabriele D'Annunzio, successful poet and occasional politician, declared himself Commandante of the city of Fiume in modern-day Croatia. His intention - to establish a utopia based on his fascist and artistic ideals. It was the dramatic pinnacle to an outrageous career.

Lucy Hughes-Hallett charts the controversial life of D'Annunzio, the debauched artist who became a national hero. His evolution from idealist Romantic to radical right-wing revolutionary is a political parable. Through his ideological journey, culminating in the failure of the Fiume endeavour, we witness the political turbulence of early 20th-century Europe and the emergence of fascism.

In The Pike, Hughes-Hallett addresses the cult of nationalism and the origins of political extremism - and at the centre of the book stands the charismatic D'Annunzio: a figure as deplorable as he is fascinating.

  • ISBN13 9780007213955
  • Publish Date 17 January 2013
  • Publish Status Out of Print
  • Out of Print 18 November 2013
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
  • Imprint Fourth Estate Ltd