The Pike: Gabriele d’Annunzio, Poet, Seducer and Preacher of War
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.
”'Hard to beat … a biographical tour de force … a rich, voluptuous treat … a triumph, the biography of the year” - Robert McCrum, Observer, 'Books of the Year’
”'[The Pike] dramatically extends biography’s formal range to encompass a daunting theme” - TLS, 'Books of the Year’
”'This is a magnificent portrait of a preposterous character … deplorable, brilliant, ludicrous, tragic but above all irresistible, as hundreds of women could testify. His biographer has done him full justice” - Francis Wheen, Daily Mail
”'A cracker of a biography, an extraordinary story of literary accomplishment, passionate war-mongering and sexual incorrigibility… In less skilled hands this could have been a disaster; in fact it works wonderfully well” - Spectator, 'Books of the Year’
”'Beautiful, strange and original … an extraordinarily intimate portrait” - New Statesman
”'Hugely enjoyable … Hughes-Hallett has a great talent for encapsulating an era or an attitude …That almost 700 pages flew by bears testimony to how pleasurable and readable those pages were” - Sunday Times
”'A splendid subject for a biography … Hughes-Hallett dances her way through this extraordinary life in a style that is playful, punchy and generally pleasing … In death, as in life, the amazing story of D’Annunzio is painted in primary colours, but with the darkest shadows” - Observer
”'A riveting biography … It must have been so tempting to be judgmental, but Hughes-Hallett allows us to judge for ourselves” - Antonia Fraser, Daily Mail, 'Books of the Year’
”'Not only an inspired telling of a life that becomes more repellent with each page, it illuminates early 20th-century Europe in brilliant, unexpected ways” - Observer
”'Electrifying … a fascinating portrait … Hughes-Hallett relates his journey from romantic idealist to Right-wing warmonger with flair and insight” - Daily Express
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