A House in the Mountains Audiobook By Caroline Moorehead cover art

A House in the Mountains

The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascistm

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER

The extraordinary story of four courageous women who helped form the Italian Resistance against the Nazis and the Fascists during the Second World War.

In the late summer of 1943, when Italy changed sides in WWII and the Germans, now their enemies, occupied the north of the country, an Italian Resistance was born. Ada, Frida, Silvia and Bianca were four young Piedmontese women who joined the Resistance, living secretively in the mountains surrounding Turin. They were not alone. Between 1943 and 1945, as the Allies battled their way north, thousands of men and women throughout occupied Italy rose up and fought to liberate their country from the German invaders and their Fascist collaborators. What made the partisan war all the more extraordinary was the number of women in its ranks.

The bloody civil war that ensued across the country pitted neighbour against neighbour, and brought out the best and worst in Italian society. The courage shown by the partisans was exemplary, and eventually bound them together as a coherent fighting force. And the women's contribution was invaluable—they fought, carried messages and weapons, provided safe houses, laid mines and took prisoners. Ada's house deep in the mountains became a meeting place and refuge for many of them. The death rattle of Mussolini's two decades of Fascist rule—with its corruption, greed and anti-Semitism—was unrelentingly violent and brutal, but for the partisan women it was also a time of camaraderie and equality, pride and optimism. They would prove, to themselves and to the world, what resolve, tenacity and above all exceptional courage could achieve. Biographies & Memoirs Politicians Politics & Activism World War II Wars & Conflicts Women Italy Europe Military

Critic reviews

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“A highly satisfying conclusion to the author’s series. Excellent, well-presented evidence of the incalculable strengths and abilities of women to create and run a country.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Gripping . . . A valuable contribution to the history of the Second World War, and a sobering look at heroism and disappointment.” —Winnipeg Free Press

“Dramatic, heartbreaking and sweeping in scope. . . . In the countless memoirs written by men about the occupation . . . women are rarely mentioned. That the partisan brigades depended on female combatants who risked their lives every day is glossed over. At last, this important, meticulously researched book tells their story.” —Wall Street Journal

“In this deeply moving, beautifully told history, biographer and historian Moorehead shares the story of northern Italian resistance during WWII, focusing on the anti-Fascists of Turin. . . . A superb and significant chronicle.” —Booklist (starred review)

“The narrative is told with such verve that I frequently had goosebumps. . . . The melancholy coda, recounting what happened to the women—accidents, politicking, writing and addiction—completes a riveting read.” —The Guardian

“An incredible story. . . . Based on extensive archival research, this is a fine history that centers women in the story of the Italian resistance.” —Library Journal (starred review)
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