We sat down with the impossibly young Claire Lowdon to discuss her debut novel, Left of the Bang.
Until 2013, the name Gabriele D’Annunzio was known only to students of Italian history, devotees of Decadent poetry and fashionistas with an interest in turn-of-the-century menswear. Now the name of this repulsive yet compelling man rings many more bells, thanks to the thrilling Samuel Johnson prize-winning biography The Pike by Lucy Hughes-Hallett.
She details D’Annunzio’s evolution from an idealistic poet who allied himself with the Romantic aesthetic to an instigator of radical right-wing revolt against democratic authority, who eventually declared himself the Commandante of the city of Fiume in modern-day Croatia, intending to establish the utopian modern state upon his muddled fascist and artistic ideals and create a social paradigm for the rest of the world. Read more…
In this podcast, 4th Estate interviews the sublime and recently Grammy nominated Scott Blackwood, the author of the sublime new novel ‘See How Small’, which is based on the real life murders of three young girls in Texas. We speak about the soundtrack behind the book, potential film versions, and why it should be the next Serial. Enjoy. Read more…