The Woman Who Shot Mussolini

This series of illustrations was inspired by the book The Woman Who Shot Mussolini by Frances Stonor Saunders which tells the true story of Violet Gibson, an Irishwoman who travelled to Italy in 1925 and attempted to assassinate Mussolini, only to miss and take a small chunk out of his nose. I first discovered this story through a folk song by Lisa O’Neil titled Violet Gibson (the woman in question) which is a charming, somewhat humorous rendition of what is ultimately a very tragic story. My intention was to produce a series of illustrations to hint at parts of the story in a more gentle way, focusing more on the character and experiences of the protagonist. I began the project with some loose charcoal drawings to get to grips with the subject before producing my thumbnail sketches. The final illustrations, shown mocked up in a similar format to The Times Literary Supplement, alongside a Guardian review of Saunders book, were produced using predominantly graphite, with a touch of tweaking in Procreate. My grandmother was Irish and as such I have a bit of an affinity with stories that centre around the Irish character. It’s a theme I’m really keen to explore further in future projects.