Malaparte, Englishmen and Others
International Seminar
30 September 2026, 6 pm
Casa Italia, Italian Cultural Institute, London
4–5 Buckingham Gate
London SW1E 6JP
Complex, charismatic and provocative, a leading figure of his time, Curzio Malaparte, born Kurt Erich Suckert, was one of the most significant interpreters of the 20th century, from the outbreak of the World Wars through to the years of Italy’s economic miracle.
The author of the acclaimed novels Kaputt (1944) and The Skin (1949), Malaparte was also a distinguished journalist and reporter. His accounts of his travels, exploits and encounters—whether set against the backdrop of a conflict, a strike or an elegant European salon—held readers of numerous publications spellbound. Among these were his reports from England in 1933, published in the Corriere della Sera until 1935 and later collected in L’Inglese in paradiso (published posthumously in 1960): fascinating years in the history of the United Kingdom, and undoubtedly complex years in Malaparte’s biography.
In the correspondence I diecimila, published in 1936 by The Yale Review under the title Englishmen and Others, Malaparte describes the sons of Albion as belonging to the species of Angels rather than to the human race, imagining that around ten thousand of them could be defined as Triumphant Angels, whose stature characterised an entire culture distinct from all others. It is from this article, translated ninety years ago, that we take our inspiration for this study day: Malaparte’s vision of the uniqueness of the English people resonates strongly with the marked individuality of the writer himself within his generation.
The seminar Malaparte, Englishmen and Others, organised jointly by the Italian Cultural Institute and the Fondazione Biblioteca di via Senato, with the endorsement by the University College London (UCL), will explore the relatively little-studied relationship between Malaparte and England. The event will examine the evolution of Malaparte’s narratives and present previously unpublished correspondence with prominent figures from the British historical and cultural landscape, bringing together scholars, readers and interpreters of an author whose writings offer numerous keys to understanding the 20th century.
The conference will be held inItalian, with simultaneous translation into English.
PROGRAMME
6.00 pm
Welcome by the Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, followed by a brief introduction by Carla Maria Giacobbe, Curator of the Malaparte Archive
6.15 pm
Andrea Gialloreto (University of Chieti-Pescara), Curzio Malaparte’s “English Years”: Books, Encounters, Slanders
6.30 pm
Emmanuel Mattiato (Université Savoie Mont Blanc), Malaparte’s Correspondence with Sir Percy Loraine: June 1940, on the Origins of the First and Only Italo-British War
6.45 pm
Beatrice Sica (University College London), Curzio Malaparte, Sylvia Saunders, Cecil Sprigge
7.00 pm
Carla Maria Giacobbe (Fondazione Biblioteca di via Senato), English Connections: Relationships Revealed in the Archive
DEBATE
7.30 pm
Malaparte as Imaginary Interlocutor: a conversation with Alex Houen (Pembroke College), author of the poetry collection Malapartings (Equipage, 2021)
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