''My Autobiography'' is a book by Benito Mussolini. It is a dictated, narrative autobiography recounting the author's youth, his years as an agitator and journalist, his experiences in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the formation and revolutionary struggles of the Fascist Party, the

March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, ...

, and his early years in power. It was first published in 1928;

Richard Washburn Child Richard Washburn Child (August 5, 1881 – January 31, 1935) was an American author and diplomat. Both during and after his service as United States Ambassador to Italy, he was a well-known promoter of fascism, in particular Italian Fascism, ...

, together with Luigi Barzini, Jr., served as the book's

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often ...

Background

Mussolini dictated parts of the text to his brother Arnaldo Mussolini who handed the manuscripts, together with other material supplied by Mussolini's lover

Margherita Sarfatti Margherita Sarfatti (née Grassini; 8 April 1880 – 30 October 1961) was an Italian journalist, art critic, patron, collector, socialite, and prominent propaganda adviser of the National Fascist Party. She was Benito Mussolini's biographer as we ...

, to

(the former American ambassador to Italy). Child served together with Luigi Barzini, Jr. as a ghostwriter for the autobiography, which was mainly aimed at readers in the U.S. It was a paid work of propaganda and remained unpublished in Italy until 1971. It was first serialized in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'' (May to Oct. 1928) and then published as a book, with a foreword, by Child. In this preface, he wrote:

Publishing history

The autobiography was first published as a book in gilt-lettered green cloth by

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan R ...

in 1928. The text's typescript is held in the

Houghton Library Houghton Library, on the south side of Harvard Yard adjacent to Widener Library, is Harvard University's primary repository for rare books and manuscripts. It is part of the Harvard College Library, the library system of Harvard's Faculty of ...

at Harvard University. Hurst & Blackett reprinted a ''Paternoster Library'' cheap edition in 1936 (the title page says ''11th thousand''). A

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

translation was published in 1937. In 1939, Hutchinson & Co. published an edition with "specially authorized additions by arrangement and approval of

Il Duce ( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 192 ...

, bringing it up to the year 1939". Greenwood Press reprinted the 1928 edition in 1970 (). In 1998, Da Capo Press published ''

My Rise and Fall My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Market ...

'' () combining ''My Autobiography'' with '' The Fall of Mussolini: His Own Story'' (1948).

*Foreword #A Sulphurous Land #My Father #The Book of Life (in some editions the first three chapters are one titled: Youth) #War and Its Effect upon a Man #Ashes and Embers #The Death Struggle of a Worn out Democracy #The Garden of Fascism #Toward Conquest of Power #Thus We Took Rome #Five Years of Government #New Paths #The Fascist State and the Future #En Route *Index

References

*D'Agostino, Peter R. ''Rome in America. Transnational Catholic Ideology from the Risoregimento to Fascism.'' U of North Carolina P, 2004. *Diggins, John P. Mussolini and Fascism: the View from America. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1972. *Fermi, Laura. ''Mussolini''. Chicago: Chicago UP, 1961. *Lindberg, Kathryn V. "Mass Circulation versus The Masses. Covering the Modern Magazine Scene." In: ''National Identities - Postamerican Narratives.'' Ed. Donald E. Pease. Duke UP, 1994, 279-310. {{Authority control Political autobiographies 1928 non-fiction books Works originally published in The Saturday Evening Post Literature first published in serial form Benito Mussolini

Background

Publishing history

Contents

References