M: Son of the Century (Italian: M. Il figlio del secolo) is a 2018 historical novel by Antonio Scurati.

M: Son of the Century

M: Son of the Century (Italian: M. Il figlio del secolo) is a 2018 historical novel by Antonio Scurati. It is the first novel in a tetralogy recounting the rise of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. It was a bestseller and was awarded the prestigious Strega Prize.

 

Summary

M: Son of the Century is the first volume in a series of four books about Benito Mussolini. The series intends to tell the history of Italy beginning on 23 March 1919, the day the Italian Fasces of Combat was founded, and ending in 1945. M: Son of the Century concludes with Mussolini's speech to the Chamber of Deputies on 3 January 1925, which officially established Italy as a dictatorship following the political crisis caused by the murder of Giacomo Matteotti.

 

Per the novel's copyright page, in the narrative "every single event, character, dialogue, discourse . . . has been historically documented and/or authoritatively witnessed by more than one source. Most chapters are supplemented with excerpts from contemporary documents and sources.For this reason, Scurati has defined the work as a "documentary novel". The citations serve the purpose of rehashing events the author had just rendered fictionally.Scurati actively blurs the boundary between history and fiction throughout the novel. With M, Scurati intends to "bring fascism down to earth, giving real knowledge of it as only literature knows how, when it delves into the details of material life".

 

The novel is narrated primarily by an omniscient third-person narrator who periodically shifts into a first-person speaker—Mussolini himself.

 

Publication

The novel was first published by Bompiani on 12 September 2018.

 

The first edition of the novel contained historical errors which were detailed by Ernesto Galli della Loggia [it] in the Corriere della Sera.Scurati responded to the controversy in a column also published in the Corriere della Sera. In it, he argued that the current era requires "a cooperation between the rigor of historical accuracy and the art of the novel".

 

The novel has been translated for publication in 46 countries.

 

Reception

The novel was a success, selling over 600,000 copies.

 

M: Son of the Century was awarded the 2019 Strega Prize. Scurati dedicated the award to those who fought against fascism.

 

The English translation by Anne Milano Appel was published by Harper on 5 April 2022. Sam Sacks of The Wall Street Journal wrote, "Readers will find themselves swept up by the story, thrilled by its conflicts and strangely forgetful that its 'hero' is a murderous despot. It's a dangerous lesson for a novel to convey, but a profoundly important one."Publishers Weekly praised the "magisterial prose, adeptly translated by Appel".[5] In a mixed review, The Washington Post's Wendy Smith wrote, "European critics who noted that M was not precisely a novel had a point. Virtually every narrative chapter is followed by excerpts from period documents that mostly repeat the material laid out. This bumpy mix of fact and sort-of-fiction kills the book's momentum and makes it much longer than it needs to be. The book was also praised by The Atlantic, which praised its lessons as poignant.

 

Adaptations

Television adaptation

The novel has been adapted into an eight-part drama series. It features Luca Marinelli in the lead role of Mussolini. British filmmaker Joe Wright directed, while Stefano Bises and Davide Serino adapted the script. Filming began in October 2022 at Rome's Cinecittà studios. The series is produced by Sky Studios and Lorenzo Mieli's The Apartment Pictures, in collaboration with France's Pathé. The series was screened at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2024 and began airing on Sky Atlantic on 10 January 2025.

 

Stage adaptation

A stage adaptation was created by Massimo Popolizio, in collaboration with Lorenzo Pavolini, and interpreted by Popolizio himself with Tommaso Ragno.The play was produced by Piccolo Teatro di Milano-Teatro d'Europa, Teatro di Roma, and Istituto Luce Cinecittà, in collaboration with Centro Teatrale Santacristina.

 

Mussolini: Son of the Century TV SERIES

Mussolini: Son of the Century (Italian: M. Il figlio del secolo) is a biographical historical drama television series directed by Joe Wright, based on the 2018 novel M: Son of the Century by Antonio Scurati. Starring Luca Marinelli as Benito Mussolini, the series centers on the early political career of Mussolini in the 1920s. It premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2024 and began airing on Sky Atlantic on 10 January 2025.

 

Stephanie Bunbury of Deadline wrote that the series "brilliantly depicts how banal evil gets its way". She further wrote, "M. Son of the Century sticks to the facts of the great dictator's life, which are extraordinary enough, but stretches those facts into surreal shapes until we feel we're in some parallel historical universe. Wright's brassy style — unlike anything he has done before — owes something to [Federico] Fellini, but a whole lot more to its subject. Because Benito Mussolini, apart from anything else, definitely knew how to put on a show."

 

Valerio Sammarco of Cinematografo.it gave the series five out of five stars and wrote, "Whirling and pyrotechnic, Joe Wright's Sky series arrives Out of Competition at Venice81: a monstrous performance by Luca Marinelli, who breaks the fourth wall to tell us about the rise of the Duce." Mauro Donzelli of Comingsoon.it also gave the series five out of five stars, calling it "a marvel" and "an extraordinary parable between the intoxication of violence and the ghosts of power".

 

Paola Casella of Mymovies.it gave the series four out of five stars and called it "an intelligent series with a fearless script and an inspired cast" and "a work that takes the bull by the horns, tackling a slice of Italian history with great narrative breadth and immense production effort".

 

Antonio Cuomo of Movieplayer.it gave the series four out of five stars and wrote, "M. Son of the Century is an impressive and important work, for the production values it uses and for the narrative and visual construction by Joe Wright to do justice on screen to the novel by Antonio Scurati, from which it takes inspiration. Luca Marinelli's work on the character is good, at the center of a cast that manages to offer a complete and multifaceted cross-section of the moment and the figures that brought it to life. A series that evolves in its eight episodes to leave us with important food for thought and a subtle sense of uneasiness that we struggle to shake off. As great stories can do."

 

Chiara Guida of Cinefilos.it gave the series three-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote, "M. Son of the Century is a candidate to be the most important Italian television event of this season and perhaps also for the seasons to come, a product that unfortunately also speaks of contemporaneity and that could be welcomed even outside national borders."

 

Marianna Ciarlante of Today rated the series 8.8 out of 10 and wrote, "Every aspect of this series is a winner, from the direction to the screenplay, from the cast to the lighting, right down to the perfect soundtrack by The Chemical Brothers. Futuristic, original, provocative and provocative, M. Son of the Century is a series not to be missed."

 

Elisa Giudici of Gamesurf rated the series 8.5 out of 10 and wrote, "M. Son of the Century is a great serial adaptation that immediately understands that the only way to do justice to its literary source and to history is to betray it from the beginning, conversing with the current audience, making contemporary anxieties resonate in its narration, creating a charismatic, sometimes overbearing identity. It will be one of the cult series of 2025."

 

Claudia Catalli of Wired Italia called the series "great, great cinema." She further wrote, "Starting with Wright's direction, free, impeccable and obsessively attentive to details as to convey the atmosphere, masterfully alternating fiction with repertoire, behind a meticulous work [that is] both historical and visionary. The pace is incandescent, and the notable writing work, starting from the significant Strega Prize-winning novel by Antonio Scurati and arriving at the excellent screenplay by Stefano Bises and Davide Serino, offers memorable passages, without ever falling into rhetoric and without forgetting irony (fundamental, in a story already historically tragic, dark and violent in itself)."

 

Paolo Nizza of Sky TG24 called the series "a very powerful fiction that with an imaginative and cinematic style". He also commended the cast's performances, stating that "Luca Marinelli should be given every award available on the globe" and that "the entire cast seems inclined to excellence". Antonella Catena of Style Magazine called the series "pure cinema"and Gabriele Lingiardi of Badtaste called the series a "majestic work of production".