Death of a Dictator

More than eighty years ago, fleeing the collapsing regime that he had forged in blood, Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist dictator, was shot dead.


What did he think he was doing as he absconded with his mistress, not to mention piles of gold in bars, sovereigns and jewelry? What did he plan to do with the 50,000 fascist supporters who followed him as far as an Alpine valley north of Milan? And who actually killed him?


These are not idle questions: they have obsessed historians and conspiracy theorists, driven decades of political upheaval, and set the stage for a reborn far right. The killing of Mussolini is Italy's JFK.


The long-awaited nonfiction debut from former Sunday Times literary editor Andrew Holgate, Death of a Dictator is a true historical whodunnit, one that picks its way through a mass of contradictory evidence in search of the truth behind modern Italy's founding myth.