"A most impressive collection of essays that gives us a new and deeper understanding of what life was like for ordinary people under Mussolini''s repressive regime . . Addressing a wide variety of subjects, ranging from the impact of fascist violence and the regime''s dictates about everyday eating habits, to fascist ideas about masculinity, the role of coercion, the priorities of fascist education, abortion under fascism, and the attitudes of fascist colonisers in Libya,  this study throws fresh light on the ways in which people adjusted to a would-be totalitarian regime which tried to invade almost all aspects of daily life. A most welcome contribution that combines an innovative theoretical approach with a series of rich empirical studies." (Paul Corner, Centre for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, University of Siena, Italy)