A House in the Mountains: The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism

""Dramatic, heartbreaking and sweeping in scope."" -Wall Street Journal

The acclaimed author of A Train in Winter returns with the ""moving finale"" (The Economist) of her Resistance Quartet-the powerful and inspiring true story of the women of the partisan resistance who fought against Italy's fascist regime during World War II.

In the late summer of 1943, when Italy broke with the Germans and joined the Allies after suffering catastrophic military losses, an Italian Resistance was born. Four young Piedmontese women-Ada, Frida, Silvia and Bianca-living secretly in the mountains surrounding Turin, risked their lives to overthrow Italy's authoritarian government. They were among the thousands of Italians who joined the Partisan effort to help the Allies liberate their country from the German invaders and their Fascist collaborators. What made this partisan war all the more extraordinary was the number of women-like this brave quartet-who swelled its ranks.

The bloody civil war that ensued pitted neighbor against neighbor, and revealed the best and worst in Italian society. The courage shown by the partisans was exemplary, and eventually bound them together into a coherent fighting force. But the death rattle of Mussolini's two decades of Fascist rule-with its corruption, greed, and anti-Semitism-was unrelentingly violent and brutal.

Drawing on a rich cache of previously untranslated sources, prize-winning historian Caroline Moorehead illuminates the experiences of Ada, Frida, Silvia, and Bianca to tell the little-known story of the women of the Italian partisan movement fighting for freedom against fascism in all its forms, while Europe collapsed in smoldering ruins around them.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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A House in the Mountains: The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism

""Dramatic, heartbreaking and sweeping in scope."" -Wall Street Journal

The acclaimed author of A Train in Winter returns with the ""moving finale"" (The Economist) of her Resistance Quartet-the powerful and inspiring true story of the women of the partisan resistance who fought against Italy's fascist regime during World War II.

In the late summer of 1943, when Italy broke with the Germans and joined the Allies after suffering catastrophic military losses, an Italian Resistance was born. Four young Piedmontese women-Ada, Frida, Silvia and Bianca-living secretly in the mountains surrounding Turin, risked their lives to overthrow Italy's authoritarian government. They were among the thousands of Italians who joined the Partisan effort to help the Allies liberate their country from the German invaders and their Fascist collaborators. What made this partisan war all the more extraordinary was the number of women-like this brave quartet-who swelled its ranks.

The bloody civil war that ensued pitted neighbor against neighbor, and revealed the best and worst in Italian society. The courage shown by the partisans was exemplary, and eventually bound them together into a coherent fighting force. But the death rattle of Mussolini's two decades of Fascist rule-with its corruption, greed, and anti-Semitism-was unrelentingly violent and brutal.

Drawing on a rich cache of previously untranslated sources, prize-winning historian Caroline Moorehead illuminates the experiences of Ada, Frida, Silvia, and Bianca to tell the little-known story of the women of the Italian partisan movement fighting for freedom against fascism in all its forms, while Europe collapsed in smoldering ruins around them.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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A House in the Mountains: The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism

A House in the Mountains: The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism

by Caroline Moorehead

Narrated by Derek Perkins

Unabridged — 13 hours, 43 minutes

A House in the Mountains: The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism

A House in the Mountains: The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism

by Caroline Moorehead

Narrated by Derek Perkins

Unabridged — 13 hours, 43 minutes

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Overview

""Dramatic, heartbreaking and sweeping in scope."" -Wall Street Journal

The acclaimed author of A Train in Winter returns with the ""moving finale"" (The Economist) of her Resistance Quartet-the powerful and inspiring true story of the women of the partisan resistance who fought against Italy's fascist regime during World War II.

In the late summer of 1943, when Italy broke with the Germans and joined the Allies after suffering catastrophic military losses, an Italian Resistance was born. Four young Piedmontese women-Ada, Frida, Silvia and Bianca-living secretly in the mountains surrounding Turin, risked their lives to overthrow Italy's authoritarian government. They were among the thousands of Italians who joined the Partisan effort to help the Allies liberate their country from the German invaders and their Fascist collaborators. What made this partisan war all the more extraordinary was the number of women-like this brave quartet-who swelled its ranks.

The bloody civil war that ensued pitted neighbor against neighbor, and revealed the best and worst in Italian society. The courage shown by the partisans was exemplary, and eventually bound them together into a coherent fighting force. But the death rattle of Mussolini's two decades of Fascist rule-with its corruption, greed, and anti-Semitism-was unrelentingly violent and brutal.

Drawing on a rich cache of previously untranslated sources, prize-winning historian Caroline Moorehead illuminates the experiences of Ada, Frida, Silvia, and Bianca to tell the little-known story of the women of the Italian partisan movement fighting for freedom against fascism in all its forms, while Europe collapsed in smoldering ruins around them.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.


Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Important, meticulously researched… A House in the Mountains tells the untold story of the women of the Italian resistance…. Dramatic, heartbreaking and sweeping in scope, Ms. Moorehead’s book charts the experiences of these women in the wider context of the war in Italy.” — Wall Street Journal

“The moving finale of a quartet of books on resistance to fascism. . . . Ms. Moorehead conveys the terror with understated power; she is equally good at conjuring the blurred morality of civil conflict.” — The Economist

“Riveting…. The narrative is told with such verve that I frequently had goosebumps.” — The Guardian

“Gripping and important…. Moorehead delicately unravels and interweaves the personal stories of several key women in the Italian resistance… giving us a compelling narrative that vividly describes who these women were and what they did for their country…. A House in the Mountains is something of a manifesto against neutrality, and a showcase of the boundless power of female passion. The women of the resistance still have so much to teach us today.” — AirMail

“Gripping… exhaustively researched… Moorehead artfully builds the tension as liberation approaches and partisans make a desperate last stand.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune

“A highly satisfying conclusion to the author’s series. Excellent, well-presented evidence of the incalculable strengths and abilities of women to create and run a country.” — Kirkus, starred review

“In this deeply moving, beautifully told history, biographer and historian Moorehead shares the story of northern Italian resistance during WWII, focusing on the anti-Fascists of Turin… [A] superb and significant chronicle.” — Booklist, starred review

“Moorehead, in the final book of her “Resistance Quartet” series, tells the incredible story of the stafetta, women of the Italian resistance…. A fine history.” — Library Journal, starred review

“Italy often gets short shrift in popular English-language histories about World War II, with the fighting in the country shrugged off as a sideshow to the Battle of Britain and the invasion of France. Caroline Moorehead takes advantage of this relative gap in the literature with the moving A House in the Mountains.” — The Oregonian

“Moorehead paints a wonderfully vivid and moving portrait of the women of the Italian Resistance…. [An] excellent book.” — The Sunday Times

Wall Street Journal

Important, meticulously researched… A House in the Mountains tells the untold story of the women of the Italian resistance…. Dramatic, heartbreaking and sweeping in scope, Ms. Moorehead’s book charts the experiences of these women in the wider context of the war in Italy.

AirMail

Gripping and important…. Moorehead delicately unravels and interweaves the personal stories of several key women in the Italian resistance… giving us a compelling narrative that vividly describes who these women were and what they did for their country…. A House in the Mountains is something of a manifesto against neutrality, and a showcase of the boundless power of female passion. The women of the resistance still have so much to teach us today.

starred review Booklist

In this deeply moving, beautifully told history, biographer and historian Moorehead shares the story of northern Italian resistance during WWII, focusing on the anti-Fascists of Turin… [A] superb and significant chronicle.

The Oregonian

Italy often gets short shrift in popular English-language histories about World War II, with the fighting in the country shrugged off as a sideshow to the Battle of Britain and the invasion of France. Caroline Moorehead takes advantage of this relative gap in the literature with the moving A House in the Mountains.

The Sunday Times

Moorehead paints a wonderfully vivid and moving portrait of the women of the Italian Resistance…. [An] excellent book.

The Economist

The moving finale of a quartet of books on resistant to fascism.... Ms. Moorehead conveys the terror with understated power; she is equally good at conjuring the blurred morality of civil conflict.

The Guardian

Riveting…. The narrative is told with such verve that I frequently had goosebumps.

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Gripping… exhaustively researched… Moorehead artfully builds the tension as liberation approaches and partisans make a desperate last stand.

Wall Street Journal

Important, meticulously researched… A House in the Mountains tells the untold story of the women of the Italian resistance…. Dramatic, heartbreaking and sweeping in scope, Ms. Moorehead’s book charts the experiences of these women in the wider context of the war in Italy.

null AirMail

Gripping and important…. Moorehead delicately unravels and interweaves the personal stories of several key women in the Italian resistance… giving us a compelling narrative that vividly describes who these women were and what they did for their country…. A House in the Mountains is something of a manifesto against neutrality, and a showcase of the boundless power of female passion. The women of the resistance still have so much to teach us today.

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2019-09-24
In the final volume of the Resistance Quartet, Moorehead (A Bold and Dangerous Family, 2017) continues her work exalting the women of World War II who saved their countries from fascism.

The author now turns to the Piedmont region of Northern Italy and the city of Turin, which was a hotbed of fascism but also the epicenter of the resistance. Moorehead relies heavily on the diaries of participant Ada Gobetti, who, along with Bianca Serra, Frida Malan, and Silvia Pons, formed a core group within the thousands of women who drove the resistance from 1943 to 1945. Under 20 years of Mussolini's rule, women were expected to be submissive and produce children. "One of the key beliefs in Fascist ideology," writes the author, "was that men and women were inherently different." But being ignored as insignificant made them perfect couriers and concealers of messages, escapees, and arms. These women, who produced underground newspapers, led strikes, and transported escapees, were crucial to the resistance, and Moorehead clearly delineates their determination and heroism throughout the exciting narrative. After Mussolini's fall, Italy secured an armistice with the Allies, but the Germans moved in to take over the country. Thus, a multifaceted war began, but was it civil war, a war of liberation, or a class war? With multiple governments and armies, it was chaotic. The Italian army had little leadership, and most of the soldiers abandoned their posts. With more than 100,000 disbanded soldiers, it fell to the women to help. In the Piedmont hills, a dozen separate groups eventually winnowed down to a six-party coalition while help from the Allies was difficult to find. Turin's Liberation Day, April 26, 1945, was organized by the women of the resistance and featured a complete stoppage of factories, trams, courts, and shops. The partisan groups, men and women, quickly established government offices and handled expected reprisals. This is a highly satisfying conclusion to the author's series.

Excellent, well-presented evidence of the incalculable strengths and abilities of women to create and run a country.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940172924279
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 01/28/2020
Series: Resistance , #4
Edition description: Unabridged
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