Mulcahy Conway Associates

All The Stars Electric Bright

Love, art and divided loyalties, against the violent background of Fascist Italy

May 10th, 1930. Emilio, Arturo and Nina, the woman they both love, speed through the hills of Lombardy en route to an exclusive Futurist dinner party. Attended by the glitterati of Italian high society, it promises to be a dazzling affair, presided over by Marinetti himself.

The two men, struggling young painters whose rivalry simmers beneath the surface of their friendship, hope the evening will launch their careers. But success in Mussolini's Italy will force impossible dilemmas on both. Arturo must choose between his love for Nina and his gnawing ambition. Emilio, haunted by his last visit to his elderly uncle - in hospital after being brutally beaten up for his socialist views - must decide whether he can live with himself if he yields to the blandishments of the regime.

For Nina, the stakes are even higher. Her husband has disappeared: dangerous rumours swirl of his involvement in a plot against the Duce. And at the party there is a man from her past - the reptilian Commendatore Scaglia. Highly placed within the regime, he has good reason to wish her harm...

Against the background of the Italian Alps and an extraordinary meal that is itself a work of art, the evening ticks towards an explosive climax that will decide all their futures.

Reviews

Flitting between the characters' pasts and presents, Breckon beautifully reveals their hectic motivations, conflicting emotions and struggle for artistic integrity against a backdrop of the menacing and horrific advance of Italy's Fascist dictatorship. It's a heady mix of art, drugs, ambition and fear, with Marinetti's absurdly inventive meal as a fitting counterpoint.

Daily Mail

A riveting account of an imagined moment that could have changed history

Time Out BOOK OF THE WEEK

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