Anyone who has read War in Val d'Orcia (bwl 2) will be fascinated by Origo's diary of the years leading up to the war. A real eye-opener to discover how desperately the Italian rural population trusted Mussolini to keep them out of the war. Also fascinating to see how propaganda turned Britain into the hated arch-enemy and foresaw its apparent downfall with immense satisfaction. As for Anglo-American Iris trying to keep sane under these circumstances, well, heroic!
(Annabel Bedini - bwl 87 Winter 2018 ) |
