A Good European. Richard Aldington and Italy

When speaking about literature ‘crossing the borders’, one can refer to the actual journey abroad made by an artist – sometimes ending in (self)exile, as well as the reception of an artist in a foreign country. Richard Aldington is an intriguing figure to be studied from both points of view. Poet, translator from Italian and French, biographer and best-selling novelist, he travelled a lot around Italy with his wife to be Hilda Doolittle (H.D.) and therefore had first-hand knowledge of the country. He was very fond of Italy and its culture, and considered himself ‘a friend of Italy’, as it emerges from his letters and his novels. This essay analyses the presence and the role of Italy in Richard Aldington’s life and work – particularly his novel All Men Are Enemies – through a comparison with its Italian translation, published in a censored version under the fascist regime.