The appearance of the historical novel “The Cardinal’s Mistress,” from the pen of the Duce, the future leader and unlimited ruler of fascist Italy, at one time produced the effect of a bomb exploding. Like any talented person, Benito Mussolini was talented in everything! His creative imagination did an excellent job of depicting historical events in the spirit of Gaboriau and Dumas the Father. The novel was written so captivatingly and so richly rich in content that soon an enterprising film company began making a film based on its plot. The author was an excellent journalist and had a rare sense of what should occupy and captivate the reading public. He knew perfectly well how and how to captivate the reader. The anti-clerical orientation and some erotic component of the novel only fueled interest in it.[Note: Chapter XII was omitted in the Russian edition].