Women Writing the Great War for Children: The Diversity of the Italian Case

Research output: Contribution to book or proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter examines the Italian women who published individually

bound books aimed at children during and immediately after the Great War to

gauge contemporary attitudes about how girls were supposed to respond to

war. Almost all Italian children’s books (both fiction and non-fiction) about

the war adopted a patriotic, pro-war stance that valorized soldiers and

encouraged sacrifice. Almost none featured female characters. Despite

sharing similar views about the war and how to present it, the Italian women

writing about the Great War for children formed a diverse group. They came

from different generations and were disproportionately Jewish. Some became

avid Fascists, others committed anti-Fascists. This chapter discusses the

central themes of the works published by women and investigates where their

wartime patriotism took them during the Fascist regime.

Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationWomen and Children in Conflict, 1900-1950.
EditorsSandro Dawson, Nupur Chadhuri
Place of PublicationWilmington, DE
PublisherVernon Press
Pages57-75
ISBN (Print)978-1-64889-747-4
StatePublished - May 12 2023

Disciplines

  • History

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