Weidenfeld & Nicolson triumphs in 14-way auction for Andrew Holgate’s first book

Weidenfeld & Nicolson has triumphed in a 14-way auction for the first book by the former literary editor of the Sunday Times, Andrew Holgate.

Maddy Price, editorial director, acquired UK and Commonwealth (excluding Canada) rights in Death Of A Dictator: The Mysterious Execution Of Benito Mussolini from Toby Mundy at Aevitas Creative Management. It will publish in hardback, trade paperback, audiobook and e-book in 2027

Death Of A Dictator is billed as a “gripping Second World War historical whodunnit revealing the truth behind the death of Benito Mussolini”. Holgate “tells the thrilling and shocking story of Mussolini’s assassination, using new evidence from Italian, British and American archives to reveal for the first time who the real killer was”, W&N said. “After Mussolini’s dramatic endgame played out, what happened to the gold and secret documents he was carrying, that went missing immediately after his death? Why did anyone searching for them also disappear? And how was the truth hidden for so long?”

Price said: “It is rare to come across a proposal where so many elements immediately fall into place. Here we have a historical mystery solved, a subject with readers desperate to explore it, storytelling with immediacy and verve, and a wider perspective that makes it clear why this story is so important today. And of course, all written by a legend of the publishing industry. I am excited to publish Andrew Holgate at W&N and launch what I know will be his long career as a popular historian.”

Holgate added: “The mystery of Mussolini’s death is one of the great underreported stories of the Second World War. I grew up with my mother’s childhood stories of 1930s Rome and Mussolini sweeping past her family home in an open-topped car on his way to work, so to have the opportunity to write about this extraordinary topic is thrilling beyond measure. And I could not have wished for a more enthusiastic or committed editor to work with than Maddy Price. She and her dynamic team at Weidenfeld won me over with their belief in the book. I cannot wait to work with them, and to share with readers a colourful story whose echoes still reverberate in Italy today.”

Holgate was literary editor of the Sunday Times for 14 years until he stepped down in October 2022 and before that, deputy literary editor for nine years. He is now a part-time affiliate agent at Andrew Nurnberg Associates.