Four Days of Naples

by Aubrey Menen

September 1943, Naples lay devastated by incessant bombardment from Allied planes. The city, under an iron occupation by the Germans, was without food. During the bombardment, the famed scugnizzi-the street boys-of Naples grew increasingly exasperated by the passiveness of their elders. Known for centuries for their daring, verve, and enterprise, the boys staged an incredible revolt against the occupying Germans on September 28, 1943. Dragging furniture into the roadways, they built barricades and shot at the enemy with stolen guns. Their courage inspired many adults and Italian army deserters to join their ranks. The fighting raged on for days, and hundreds of people died. But the valiant uprising was not in On October 1, the Germans, having had their fill of Naples and the street boys, left the city for good. Later that day the first of the Allied tanks rolled into Naples, to the cheers of the victorious scugnizzi. Author and novelist Aubrey Menen was in Naples in 1948 and heard the story of those historic four days at first-hand from the scugnizzi themselves. Here he has recreated the battle-street-by-street, house-by-house. The result is an extraordinarily compelling human drama.

Genres: History, Italy

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Salvator Aubrey Clarence Menen was born in 1912 in London, of Irish and Indian parents. After attending University College, London he worked as a drama critic and a stage director. When World War II broke out, he was in India, where he organized pro-Allied radio broadcasts and edited film scripts for the Indian government. After the war ended, he returned to London to work with an advertising agency's film department, but the success of his first novel, The Prevalence of Witches (1947), induced him to take up writing full-time. Aubrey Menen’s writings, often satirical, explore the nature of nationalism and the cultural contrast between his own Irish–Indian ancestry and his traditional British upbringing. Apart from his novels and non-fiction works Menen wrote two autobiographies titled Dead Man in the Silver Market (1953) and The Space within the Heart (1970). He died in 1989 in Thiruvananthapuram.

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is with great regret that I must shelve this book as bad-disappointing but one constant refrains when posting negative reviews is about an author's lack of honesty. Unfortunately Aubrey Menen, who other books I have enjoyed, mixes fact and fiction but denies that he is doing this. Although admitting he has not supplied full names, he does not admit to telescoping events, or combining the stories of more then one person into a single character - when he writes of Niello as the boy who 'led' the rising this is presented as fact just like the death of the boy Maurizio and so many others which has such a profound affect on Niello. But unfortunately all of the anonymous boys and their activities, motives and deaths must be taken with a very large pinch of salt because at the heart of story is fabrication of such monumental stature that it strips all credibility from Menen not simply as a popular historian but even as a writer of historical fiction. Why? because the event described in loving detail - the ambush of German soldiers at the Rinascente department store in Naples led by Niello which launches the 'Four Days' and secures Niello his position as leader of the scugnizzi - never happened.

There was not in 1943, and there is still not today, a Rinascente department in Naples. In 1943 there were no department stores in Naples only the Galleria Umberto I (the setting for 'The Gallery' by John Horne Burns). Once the foundation story of the events described by Menen is demolished any trust you can in his account disappears. Creating a fictitious event like this would not even be acceptable in a historical novel, but Menen was writing long before the internet was available to reveal such falsehoods.

That doesn't mean everything in the book is without foundation - anytime Menen uses proper names, like that of Filippo Illuminato the 13 year old who was posthumously awarded the gold Medaglia d'Oro (the Italian equivalent of the UK Victoria Cross or the USA Congressional Medal of Honour) or writes about historically established events - he is accurate if perhaps fanciful - but the story he tells of Niello and his gang 'creating' and 'winning' the battle for Naples must be dismissed as fabrications - which is a polite of calling them lies.

I was going to say more about the reality of the 'Four Days of Naples' but I am leaving that for my review of 'Naples 1944: War, Liberation and Chaos' by Keith Lowe.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aubrey Menen's Four Days of Naples is a good read about an exciting moment in history, when the youth of Naples arose against the Nazi occupation of their city -- and won! The only problem with this book is that the distinction between fiction and nonfiction is blurred. The book is classified as nonfiction but reads like fiction. I probably would have felt better about it if it were an historical novel. As it was, I frequently found myself disbelieving some of the episodes.

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating popular history of the Naples uprising against the Germans. Menen conducted extensive interviews to tell both sides of the story, though several of his sources remain anonymous due to confessions of war crimes. The narrative penetrates the fog of war while at the same time emphasizing its impact on participants.

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m fascinated by this time and place in history because my parents were part of it. It’s a great story about fighting for what you believe in no matter the odds. It does ready like fiction which makes me think some of the facts are stretched but still a great book. Leave it to the young kids to start a revolution!

[Jeff J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating tale of the resistance movement against the Nazi occupation of Naples.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a heart-warming story of a hard-luck city that was over-run from both sides during the WWII. An informal history written in a simple style, it traces the story of the street children that led the effort to stop the Germans from destroying the city as they retreated from the advancing Americans.

[David Vanness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hardback with the audio version covers