Samuel Johnson prize nominees: The Pike
Author Lucy Hughes-Hallett has been nominated for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, for her biography The Pike, published by 4th Estate.
The Pike is the story of the controversial life of Gabriele D'Annunzio, the debauched Italian artist who became a national hero. His evolution from idealist Romantic to radical right-wing revolutionary is a political parable.
Nick Higham spoke to Lucy about the book.