SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BOOK AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY
LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION

“A Bold and Dangerous Family is a haunting reminder of the fragility of liberty and the dangers of complaisance.” —The Times
 
“Expertly alternating vivid domestic detail with lucid exposition of the gradual evolution of totalitarianism, Caroline Moorehead allows her readers not only to know, but also to feel, how it was to endure fascist oppression. . . . A Bold and Dangerous Family is animated by the evident admiration and affection [Moorehead] feels for her subjects. It feels like the book she was born to write.” —Lucy Hughes-Hallett, author of The Pike, The Guardian

“Lucid, readable and superbly titled biography . . . there are numerous passages that hum with life. . . . Like any good biography, A Bold and Dangerous Family is about far more than its subjects. . . . Moorehead’s portrait of the Rosselli brothers is at once a political history of pre-second world war Italy, a literary portrait of two brave young men, and a gripping tale of intrigue, espionage and escape. . . . There have been a number of fine books about the Rossellis . . . none have been this well-structured, this readable, this involved in their lives. I finished it impressed, breathless and enormously moved.” —Observer

“Moorehead recounts a story that deserves to [be] better known, exploiting her remarkable understanding of the nation and its culture.” —Max Hastings, The Sunday Times

“Carefully, and with considerable skill, Moorehead juxtaposes the growth into maturity of the intelligent Florentines, Carlo and Nello, with a vivid account of the turbulent conditions that enabled Fascism to take root.” —The Daily Telegraph

“A major contribution to the study of anti-Fascism, further enriched by Caroline Moorehead’s vivid portrayal of interwar Italy and Europe.” —Jonathan Keates, Literary Review

“Caroline Moorehead, a distinguished biographer and historian, tells the story of the Rosselli brothers and their mother Amelia, a playwright, with sensitivity, erudition and balance. . . . Moorehead’s book is a fine tribute.” —Financial Times