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

A marvelously lively portrait of a quirky, ridiculous libertine who nevertheless captured the imagination of his age, a proto fascist who seemed to instinctively understand the politics of emotion, and the coming age of mass propaganda. Since I first read of the Republic of Fiume in university, long ago, I’ve wanted to know more about this peacock who seemed the hinge between the 19th Romantic movement, futurism, Catholic obsession with blood and sex, and the starker brutal hysterics ahead in Berlin and Moscow, as well as Rome. This provides it – I hadn’t realized the grotesque extent of his promiscuity, that he was seen as a huge talent, admired by Gide, James and even, reluctantly, by Hemmingway. I hadn’t grasped that his rather disgusting lust of war was matched by real courage – he was a man risked his own life as carelessly as he proposed shedding the blood of others. Lucy HH tells the tale of a startling creature lithely and lucidly – although the book isn’t quite as outré as some fans and detractors suggest – the little vignettes of a life are well supported by d’a ’s meticulous, seemingly hour by hour note books, not as some here have suggested out of sequence speculative fiction. Her simple expediency of rendering some snapshots in the present tense lends an urgency that deceives some into think it disjointed.LHH combines deep research with a firm authorial voice, understanding, sometimes almost affectionate, frequently mocking – I particularly like her highlighting the way he compared falling over in the mud while walking his dogs to life in the trenches – just occasionally blankly unforgiving. It is a rich and great read so any complaints feel a little churlish. But I would have enjoyed a little more judgment from her after all that immersion in a life. In our perhaps more conventional age d’a would have been castigated as a “sex addict” – but is there any explanation for his relentless adolescent drive ? More importantly I could have done with more on why a certain , fairly effete, aesthetic became tied to national fervor (not just in Italy, not just in d’a) – it is rather as if Wilde, not Kipling had been the poet of Imperialism. It is critical – for all the familiar revulsion at WWI’s slaughter, for some bathing in the blood of war and revolution was still the great sacramental redeemer of men and nations. But all that means is a tremendous exhilarating read left me wanting to know even more about the context of the times.

The author is to be commended for writing a very entertaining book. Unfortunately is very uneven. It does a very good job at conveying the times when d'Annunzio lived and gives a very vivid picture of this fascinating character: erudite, inconsistent, irresponsible, obsessed with sex, master of the written word, egotistical, magnetic, aesthete. Quite a task. Unfortunately the aspects and extent of d'Annunzio's life covered many times seems dictated by the availability of information more than the relevance to understand his life. His sex life, while very extensive is dwelt on with gusto, the author seems to enjoy covering it. The discussion of the value and influence of his written works is glossed over. The coverage of his role in the First World War is extensive and gives a fascinating glimpse into his other life.. But is uneven, ignoring the most critical battle for the Italians, Caporetto, but covering extensively his year in Fiume (which is not that well known outside of Italy).While d'Annunzio wrote a considerable amount of his thoughts in letter and many of the novels, poems and theater contain autobiographical elements, many of the passages seem invented. Either she did the most outstanding piece of research into all his written works and letters, or else she supplied a lot of imagination. Some of it seems more fiction that actual biography. There are extensive quotes throughout the book without stating the source. They referred to in the end-notes, which are included without bibliographical references (not very tidy). It is amazing that she could write such an intimate biography relying on material written in English, which is not abundant, as her Bibliography attest. She does not appear to be able to read Italian, at least does not mention any Italian in the Acknowledgments. It is amazing to write a biography of somebody when you do not understand the language in which all his works are written.Her mixing of biography with chronological description of events gives a very uneven approach. Seems that when she does not have material to continue with the biography/fiction style, has to recur to narrating chronological events. This is particularly true in the last chapter. Seems that she ran out of steam and decided to rush the end of the book, covering the last 10 years of his life through vignettes. But it includes the idea that Mussolini imitated his approach, which is quite interesting. His use of eloquent oratory to move the masses, the engagement of the media, the promotion of the absolute leader to the uneducated masses, the exploitation of their weaknesses, all are attributed to d'Annunzio's character and ideas.Nevertheless, the book is recommended for those that cannot read other biographies in Italian. D'Annunzio is quite a fascinating character, albeit one not to be imitated, but one that deserves to be better known and read outside of Italy.

Wonderful! I'm about 150 pages in, but I can't wait any longer to tell you -- Take it from me, this is a wonderful biography of a bizarre man, a real one-off. As enthralling and engrossing as any novel. And very informative about the context in Italy and the rise in Fascism.Surprised there are not more reviews! And at the moment, on Kindle, a real bargain (which is how I came to buy it). Totally recommended.________________Update April 24th. I have just finished this book. 600 pages later.... It is a really wonderful biography, an enormous amount of material organised into a very readable and interesting narrative. D'Annunzio was utterly bizarre - you wouldn't believe in his very existence if it wasn't supported by the evidence of research. An archetypal fascist, utterly contrary at different periods, very eloquent but talking utter nonsense about the importance of shedding blood (lots of blood!), clearly brilliant but often spouting complete b*llshit, Obsessed with sex and (latterly) drugs. By the end of the book the story has segued into the rise of Mussolini, in some ways a D'Annunzio-lite.This is a book for anyone with an interest in history (or a warning from history), ideology, or indeed the outer extremes of human nature. I do find it difficult to understand the esteem in which he was held - his sexual success, the way he was revered -- given how unpleasant and narcissistic he was, linking his personal fortunes to the destiny of Italy, and talking about himself as if he was shrouded in myth. Perhaps he was....Do read this book! The current Kindle ebook price is a steal....

Back in 1978, in my first year at college reading history, I discussed D'Annunzio with friends who were reading Italian. My kneejerk response was "why do you want to read books by a fascist?" At the same time, I pondered the key question of 20th century history - how and why did politics become so extreme?Once you have read "The Pike", the rise of fascism and other totalitarian regimes becomes much less mysterious. The life story of D'Annunzio is a sort of key which unlocks the secret places in 20th century history. It's such an interesting life that any decent biographer could make it interesting - but it's a long and complex life and the author had to make a lot of decisions about what to leave out. She has managed this beautifully.When I saw the first reviews for the book I thought "sounds like a great book but I guess it won't get the attention it deserves because most people haven't heard of him". Please please please, even if you haven't heard of D'Annunzio, don't be put off - you don't need to know anything about him or his poetry to love this book!!!! It is a masterpiece.

This is a truly remarkable book. I am not a fan of biography in the general scheme of things, but this is written in such a creative and accomplished way. it is not a linear account of d'Annunzio's life, rather an illuminating weaving together of his personal, political, and cultural preoccupations. There is no element of hero worship in this text and sometimes d'Annunzio is shown to be 'monstrous' - but this 'monstrosity' is shown to be the product of so many historical currents ( including a national 'boodlust', an aesthetic decadence, a cult of the 'hero', and so on). We gain a sense of D'Annunzio as a scavanger of other men's ideas and work, but we are also made aware of what in all of this is truly new. It is written with pace and energy and a wonderful turn of phrase. I cannot commend this book too highly.

I had never even heard of d'Annuzio and I do not consider myself to be ignorant on 19th and 20th C history so this was fascinating. I really recommend it for its very clear prose and its beautiful style - but with two exceptions.(1) For a biography it jumps around a little instead of being a chronologically progressive story which does make the book harder to follow. There are reasons for this but I still think it could have been more sequential. (2) I object to the word "cunt" which is not the same as Nancy Mitford's "my golden cunt" but refers to a part of the female anatomy rather than a mole embossed on her letterhead. A lot of female readers will object to the C word and there must have been a less objectionable way of saying this in a book which is laden with sexual language.Very good writing and gets it five stars but has a few problems.

Brilliantly readable book from start to finish. Being partly Italian I was hoping that I would get to like the man. No! He just got more and more despicable despite the fact that clearly the author was fascinated by him as were hundreds of men and particularly women! My only criticism of the book was where she justified d'Annunzio's insistence that on a particular occasion the army shoot Italian prisoners of war visible across the enemy lines in the belief that they were cowards. She blandly justified his actions by stating that Italian law allowed this. On the basis of such arguments Nazis who tortured and shot Jews, communists and partisans were justified in using the 'I was following orders' excuse because German law allowed it! At the end one could not help but agree with somebody in Mussolini's high command who on hearing about d'Annunzio's death said 'At last!'