Now a major TV series from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Wright, starring Luca Marinelli — streaming on MUBI. “This relentless chronicle of authoritarianism emboldened and empowered offers a painful and valuable reminder that democracy is fragile, never to be taken for granted and always in need of committed defense.” — Washington Post The massive international bestseller—an epic historical novel that chronicles the birth and rise of fascism in Italy, witnessed through the eyes of its founder, the terrifyingly charismatic figure who would become one of the most notorious dictators of the twentieth century, Benito Mussolini. It is 1919, and the Great War that has ravaged Europe is over. In Italy, the people are exhausted. Tired of the political class. Tired of vague promises, inept moderates, and the agonizing machinations of a democracy that has failed ordinary citizens. While elite leaders have sat idly by, achieving nothing, one outsider—the director of a small opposition newspaper and a tireless political agitator—is electrifying the masses, promising hope for a demoralized nation hungry for change. A former socialist leader ousted by his own party, he is a drifter who knows what it is to feel lost. His voice speaks for the misfits and the outcasts; he is a protector of those who are forgotten.  He is Benito Mussolini. And soon Italy—and the world—will be forever remade.  In M: Son of the Century, Antonio Scurati tells the story of fascism from within the mind of its founder, the man known to his followers as Il Duce. Steeped in historical detail and interspersed with period documents and sources, this masterful saga explores the seductive power of nationalism and idolatry, revealing how authoritarianism took hold and a nation bent to the will of one ruthless strongman. Provocative and resonant, M is a chilling reminder that the past is never gone, and that it holds urgent lessons for us today.  "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." - Wall Street Journal “Magnificently, disturbingly mesmerizing. The second book in the series, M: Man of Destiny , can’t arrive in English soon enough.” - Open Letters Review “An ambitious exploration of the rise of fascism in Italy . . . the tale of how democracy can die to the sound of such thunderous applause. . . . The book’s most interesting feature is the liberty Antonio Scurati takes to venture into the mind of Mussolini himself.” - Atlantic “Scurati’s ambivalent portrait of a powerful fascist is sure to spark much debate.” - Publishers Weekly “This relentless chronicle of authoritarianism emboldened and empowered offers a painful and valuable reminder that democracy is fragile, never to be taken for granted and always in need of committed defense.” - Washington Post “ M is nothing like the historical novel as Walter Scott or Alessandro Manzoni would have understood it. It is relentlessly driven by fact, chronicle and document. . . . Scurati's dangerous project is, then, from its title and cover onwards, decidely Fascist-centred; it stares at the Gorgon, even looks out with the Gorgon’s eyes.” - Times Literary Supplement (London) “The material is so obviously relevant and Scurati’s presentation, in its starkness, so powerful that M: Son of the Century does grip and impress. It is, in every sense, weighty—and pushes the reader not only to reflect on the past but also on our present; as such, it is stimulating read, and one that is certainly worth engaging with.” - The Complete Review “A masterwork of modern Italian literature that will leave readers eager for more. . . . Scurati’s book could not be more timely, and it’s a superb exercise in blending historical fact and literary imagination.” - Kirkus Reviews Antonio Scurati was born in Naples in 1969 and lives in Milan. He is a Professor of Comparative Literature and Creative writing at the IULM University in Milan and a columnist for Corriere della Sera . He is the author of various novels which have won an array of literary prizes in Italy, and M: Son of the Century is the first to be made available in English. The first in a series of novels about Mussolini and the rise of fascism, it was the winner of the 2019 Strega award and has been translated into forty languages. Anne Milano Appel , PhD, has translated works by a number of leading Italian authors for a variety of US and UK publishers. Her awards include the Italian Prose in Translation Award, the John Florio Prize for Italian Translation, and the Northern California Book Award for Translation.