John Rosselli – författare

Lord William Bentinck 1774-1839: The Making of a Liberal Imperialist delves into the career of a transformative figure in British and Indian history. Far from a conventional biography or a straightforward history of his Indian administration, the book explores Bentinck’s life as part of the broader historical, social, and political currents of his time. It examines his tenure as Governor-General of India (1828-1835), while equally emphasizing his early governorship in Madras, his involvement in British and Italian affairs, and his role within the British landed aristocracy—a class navigating its relationships with emerging industrial and professional elites. Through thematic essays rather than strict chronology, the book offers a nuanced view of how Bentinck's career reflected and influenced the interplay of global imperial dynamics, administrative reform, and personal ambition.The narrative is enriched by extensive use of Bentinck's private papers, supplemented by scholarly research and official documents, particularly regarding his contributions to judicial and social reforms in India and his diplomatic activities in Europe. The text considers his administrative philosophies, his struggles with the complexities of imperial governance, and his impact on broader historical debates, such as the evolving nature of liberal imperialism. By connecting the disparate threads of Bentinck’s career—from Sicilian politics to Indian land revenue systems—the book illuminates his unique role as a representative of an adaptable ruling class during a time of profound global and local transformation.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.

Lord William Bentinck 1774-1839: The Making of a Liberal Imperialist delves into the career of a transformative figure in British and Indian history. Far from a conventional biography or a straightforward history of his Indian administration, the book explores Bentinck’s life as part of the broader historical, social, and political currents of his time. It examines his tenure as Governor-General of India (1828-1835), while equally emphasizing his early governorship in Madras, his involvement in British and Italian affairs, and his role within the British landed aristocracy—a class navigating its relationships with emerging industrial and professional elites. Through thematic essays rather than strict chronology, the book offers a nuanced view of how Bentinck's career reflected and influenced the interplay of global imperial dynamics, administrative reform, and personal ambition.The narrative is enriched by extensive use of Bentinck's private papers, supplemented by scholarly research and official documents, particularly regarding his contributions to judicial and social reforms in India and his diplomatic activities in Europe. The text considers his administrative philosophies, his struggles with the complexities of imperial governance, and his impact on broader historical debates, such as the evolving nature of liberal imperialism. By connecting the disparate threads of Bentinck’s career—from Sicilian politics to Indian land revenue systems—the book illuminates his unique role as a representative of an adaptable ruling class during a time of profound global and local transformation.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Sicily was of some tactical importance, and a British garrison was established there in 1806. For the next five years domestic and diplomatic affairs became increasingly complicated, and at last, in 1811, Lord William Bentinck was sent out to restore order. Dr Rosselli's account of his unsuccessful mission is a story of strange people and strange events. The main characters in the drama are colourful enough: King Ferdinand, lazy, irresponsible and likely to withdraw at the sign of trouble to his shooting lodge at La Ficuzza, leaving the affairs of state in the hands of his son; Queen Maria-Carolina, devoid of all common sense, enfeebled by opium and full of violent distrust of British interference; Prince Francis, a broken reed, weak-willed, vacillating, afraid of his parents, as much as of Bentinck; and the politicians of Palermo, occasionally scheming and ambitious, but more often too naive to be reliable.

Adelina Patti was the most highly regarded singer in history. She earned nearly $5,000 a night and had her own railway carriage. Yet a minor comic singer would perform for the cost of his food and a pair of shoes to wear on stage. John Rosselli's wide-ranging study introduces all those singers, members of the chorus as well as stars, who have sung Italian opera from 1600 to the twentieth century. Singers are shown slowly emancipating themselves from dependence on great patrons and entering the dangerous freedom of the market. Rosselli also examines the sexist prejudices against the castrati of the eighteenth century and against women singers. Securely rooted in painstaking scholarship and sprinkled with amusing anecdote, this is a book to fascinate and inform opera fans at all levels.

'A sigh in dancing pumps' was Heine's view of Bellini. His physical beauty, boundless success and untimely death at the age of thirty-three combined to give Bellini instant mythical status. But both the facts and the fantasies were to be embroidered by Bellini's close friend and eventual biographer Francesco Florimo, who distorted the posthumous image of the composer to the extent of altering or destroying letters in his possession. In John Rosselli's account of Bellini's life and music, a new picture of the composer emerges. He provides a more accurate view of Bellini's personality, his relationships and his short but dazzling career in Naples, Milan and Paris. He introduces the operatic world of the early nineteenth century, the singers of Bellini's roles, and, above all he explains the writing and performance of the operas themselves.

Mozart was not only an extraordinary musical genius but a man who lived through the great change from the old society to the modern one in which we still live, when people began to move from accepting the Christian scheme of things to standing alone, from letting themselves be ruled by parents and superiors to rebelling against them. He was himself one of the 'new men' of the age; his music gives voice to anxieties and consolations that are still ours. This book, first published in 1998, sets Mozart's life within the history of an age plunging into revolution and European war. It probes his crucial relationships with his father and his wife but avoids guesswork. It studies - in depth though in non-technical language - characteristic examples of his music and asks what they can tell us about their author and ourselves.

Verdi's long life spanned Napoleonic rule and the age of broadcasting. He was the last great composer to give direct voice to basic human emotions yet he was not always as straightforward as the directness of his work suggests: he was neither the uneducated peasant he claimed to be nor the conservative nationalist he seemed to become in his later years. In this biography, John Rosselli traces the life and work of a boldly innovative artist. He investigates Verdi's businesslike running of a landed estate as well as a highly successful career, and looks into his complex relationships - still not quite clear - with two women singers: his second wife Giuseppina Strepponi and his probable lover Teresa Stolz. At the same time he considers the music with clarity and insight, dwelling on the most important operas and showing us why they still fill theatres and rouse enthusiasm today.

Verdi's long life spanned Napoleonic rule and the age of broadcasting. He was the last great composer to give direct voice to basic human emotions yet he was not always as straightforward as the directness of his work suggests: he was neither the uneducated peasant he claimed to be nor the conservative nationalist he seemed to become in his later years. In this biography, John Rosselli traces the life and work of a boldly innovative artist. He investigates Verdi's businesslike running of a landed estate as well as a highly successful career, and looks into his complex relationships - still not quite clear - with two women singers: his second wife Giuseppina Strepponi and his probable lover Teresa Stolz. At the same time he considers the music with clarity and insight, dwelling on the most important operas and showing us why they still fill theatres and rouse enthusiasm today.