The Hunchback's Tailor: Giovanni Giolitti and Liberal Italy from the Challenge of Mass Politics to the Rise of Fascism, 1882-1922

(Hardback)

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This work examines the political life of Italy's most notable prime minister after Cavour. Alongside Georges Clemenceau and David Lloyd George, Giovanni Giolitti (1842-1928) stands out as one of the major liberal reformers of late 19th- and early 20th-century Europe. Giolitti emerges not as a transitional figure leading fledgling Italy into modern democracy, but as a staunch adherent of 19th-century elitist liberalism trying to navigate the new tide of mass politics. The author's research offers an insight into Giolitti as statesman and, through him, a vantage point on the development of Italy during a critical period. Giolitti's troubled relationship with mass politics defined his years in office. A life-long bureaucrat aloof from the electorate, Giolitti introduced near universal male suffrage - even while commenting that first "teaching everyone to read and write" would be a more reasonable route - and tolerated labour strikes. Rather than reform the state as a concession to populism, however, Giolitti sought to accommodate the politics of the piazza under the roof of liberal parliamentarianism, first in his pursuit of coalitions with Socialist and Catholic groups, and finally, at the end of his political life, in a failed courtship with Fascism.

Reviews

.,."Professor De Grand has once again produced a thoroughly researched monograph which clearly explains the political context in which Giolitti and all other politicians operated. In that sense the author has provided a balanced and judicious account of the political career of one of Italy's greatest parlimentarians which will be welcomed by all scholars and students of modern Italian history."-Canadian Journal of History
...Professor De Grand has once again produced a thoroughly researched monograph which clearly explains the political context in which Giolitti and all other politicians operated. In that sense the author has provided a balanced and judicious account of the political career of one of Italy's greatest parlimentarians which will be welcomed by all scholars and students of modern Italian history.-Canadian Journal of History
An Anglo-American audience will find in De Grand's biography a great resource on one of the outstanding statesmen of fin de siecle Europe. Well written and cogently argued, his book offers a balanced account of the dominant personality behind the political and administrative apparatus of the liberal state. It integrates new primary documentation- personal papers and records on the banking scandal, for the most part- with the standard liberal scholarship on Giolitti available only in Italian.-Journal of Modern History
Fragmented parties, patronage, and powerful personalities persist in Italian political life making De Grand's dessection of the Giolittian system oddly relevant to the present.-The Historian
Skillfully organized into neat and tight segments with descriptive headings, this study expertly explains and explores the full range of Giolitti's political career, concluding with a last, lonely speech in defense of representative government in a chamber dominated by fascists.-Choice
The close focus of De Grand's study, and his meticulous account of the political machinations of Giolittian Italy, ensure that his book is and will remain a crucial work of reference.-American Historical Review
..."Professor De Grand has once again produced a thoroughly researched monograph which clearly explains the political context in which Giolitti and all other politicians operated. In that sense the author has provided a balanced and judicious account of the political career of one of Italy's greatest parlimentarians which will be welcomed by all scholars and students of modern Italian history."-Canadian Journal of History
"Fragmented parties, patronage, and powerful personalities persist in Italian political life making De Grand's dessection of the Giolittian system oddly relevant to the present."-The Historian
"Skillfully organized into neat and tight segments with descriptive headings, this study expertly explains and explores the full range of Giolitti's political career, concluding with a last, lonely speech in defense of representative government in a chamber dominated by fascists."-Choice
"The close focus of De Grand's study, and his meticulous account of the political machinations of Giolittian Italy, ensure that his book is and will remain a crucial work of reference."-American Historical Review
"An Anglo-American audience will find in De Grand's biography a great resource on one of the outstanding statesmen of fin de siecle Europe. Well written and cogently argued, his book offers a balanced account of the dominant personality behind the political and administrative apparatus of the liberal state. It integrates new primary documentation- personal papers and records on the banking scandal, for the most part- with the standard liberal scholarship on Giolitti available only in Italian."-Journal of Modern History

Author Bio

ALEXANDER DE GRAND is professor of history at North Carolina State University. His publications on modern Italy include The Italian Nationalist Association and the Rise of Fascism in Italy, Italian Fascism: Its Origins and Development, Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany: The Fascist Style of Rule, and Bottai e la cultura fascista.