Gaetano Salvemini (1873 – 1957), one of the most influential Italian intellectuals of his generation,  was an historian, a professor, and a tireless anti-fascist who mentored a new generation of young intellectuals and political activists, such as Piero Gobetti, Ernesto Rossi, and Carlo & Nello Rosselli. 

After losing his wife and children in the 1908 Messina earthquake, Salvemini began a new family with his second wife, Fernande Dauriac, and her two children, Jean and Ghita. Yet, despite its marked influence on his life and politics, Salvemini's second family and its involvement with fascism has never been studied before. By exploiting hitherto unused archival sources, The Inimical Son explores an until-now little known dimension of Salvemini's life; it uncovers the personal costs of his anti-fascism, including the tragic embrace of fascism by his stepson, Jean Luchaire.