REVIEW: Mussolini's Daughter by Caroline Moorehead

 

I got this book as one of my birthday presents.  It looked intriguing, but it was somewhat deceptive in its title. This book, as the title not so subtly suggests, is supposed to be about Edda Mussolini - the eldest child and eldest daughter of Benito Mussolini. She was, theoretically, one of the most powerful woman in Europe in the 1930's and early 40's.  

Edda was born in 1910 to Rachele and Benito and, initially, had to deal with poverty, beatings and instability. Perhaps not surprisingly, her father was absent - he was often in hospitals or in jail for his fascist activities. Edda would often visit him in prison where she was taught to hug her father, not to show love, but to enable him to conceal items on Edda for her mother. Edda was never allowed to show emotion, instead being taught that stoicism was valued. She was mercurial and enigmatic, according to Moorehead, and was a very distant mother herself as a result. In her teens, Mussolini became "Il Duce" and rose to power, thrusting Edda into the spotlight. Mussolini treasured her more than her other siblings, but she never was the only woman to have his attention given his not so secrete womanizing. She became the "first lady" of the regime because her mother was very reclusive and private.  Edda ended up marrying a man named Gian Ciano, who also was known for his womanizing.

Shortly after their marriage, they travelled to Shanghai for a posting and this is where Edda seems to have been the happiest. She loved being in Shanghai. Even though there was still womanizing, Edda seems to have thrived in society there. Edda's happiness seems to shine when she's farthest from Rome - not only was she happy in Shanghai but she was very happy in the islands of Italy, off the mainland (think Capri). She had bouts of depression, listlessness and abused alcohol at best. Unlike other women, she travelled widely as an emissary of her father, including engaging in meetings with Hitler and his regime as her father's representative.  Eventually, Ciano votes against his father in law, who is arrested, imprisoned and ultimately freed from jail. As a result, Ciano himself is arrested and summarily executed. As a result, she flees to Switzerland and, eventually, is "safe" when her father himself is executed in 1945.

I guess I understand that a book like this cannot be written without providing historical context - particularly with details about Benito Mussolini's life - because Edda's life and her power seem to be in relation to him. However, I felt that most of the book was about her father and not really about her, even though it's supposed to be about her. It left me feeling like I wanted more.  There were maybe 15 pages about her lift after World War II ended, which was disappointing because I wanted to know what happened to her after her escape.  I did really appreciate Moorehead's prose and her research, which was prodigious. She obviously thoroughly researched this book.  The book itself is almost like a movie and moves fairly quickly.  

Definitely worth the read, but I would get it out of the library instead of purchasing.