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House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed

House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed

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  • Create Date：2022-01-08 04:51:54
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Sara Gay Forden
  • ISBN：146076109X
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Summary

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE from director Ridley Scott， starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver。

The sensational true story of murder， madness， glamour， and greed that shook the Gucci dynasty， now fully updated with a new afterword。

On March 27， 1995， Maurizio Gucci， heir to the fabulous fashion dynasty， was slain by an unknown gunman as he approached his Milan office。 In 1998， his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani Martinelli--nicknamed "The Black Widow" by the press--was sentenced to 29 years in prison， for arranging his murder。

Did Patrizia murder her ex-husband because his spending was wildly out of control？ Did she do it because her glamorous ex was preparing to marry his mistress， Paola Franchi？ Or is there a possibility she didn't do it at all？

The Gucci story is one of glitz， glamour， intrigue， the rise， near fall and subsequent resurgence of a fashion dynasty。 Beautifully written， impeccably researched， and widely acclaimed， The House of Gucci will captivate readers with its page-turning account of high fashion， high finance， and heart-rending personal tragedy。

PRAISE FOR THE HOUSE OF GUCCI:

"This gripping book about the empire and murder of Maurizio Gucci 。。。 reveals the ugly truth behind fashion's most fabulous family。" -Glamour

"A business book you will zip through like a novel。 。。。 Forden has whipped up a mixture of family drama and high finance into a tasty and complex narrative。" -The Economist， 'A Best Book of the Year'

"Racy， fast-paced。 。。。 Reads like a movie script。 。。。 Hard to put down。 。。。 Forden gets that famous Gucci bar-and-bit between her teeth -and gallops along。" -International Herald Tribune

"A penetrating chronicle of the rise and fall of a family business。 。。。 Even by the Borgia-like standards of the fashion industry， the operatic Guccis were special。 Not content with the usual familial stew of love， jealousy and greed， they added tax evasion， bigamy and， yes， murder to the mix。" -Wall Street Journal

"Riveting reading。" -Cosmopolitan

"A riveting account of the talent and creative chaos that built one of the world's great luxury-goods empires--and the egotism， bitter family conflict， and incompetence that nearly destroyed it。" -Bloomberg

"Fashion has never been so dramatic-and dangerous。 The saga of three generations of the Gucci family opens with an execution-style murder in Milan and penetrates the world of one of the hottest fashion labels of our time。 Fashion insider Sara Forden spins the tale of how a bunch of greedy， bickering Guccis lost control of the empire that made GG synonymous with loafers。" -Teri Agins， author of The End of Fashion

"Glamour， greed， sex， style， and very， very good leather goods -- what more can you ask for （besides a 30 percent discount）？" -Michael Gross， bestselling author of Model and 740 Park

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Reviews

Jill ，

lots of history about the gucci family which I had no idea about it was too long I thought but interesting facts about the family and all the drama and madness that occurred

Wendy ，

If you've seen the movie from 2021 House of Gucci， here's the book！ Reads more like a fiction novel it tells a story of the ultra-wealthy， a business empire， a complicated （and litigious） family， fashion， greed and revenge。 I'm not into luxury brands personally， but even I have heard of Gucci and Tom Ford。 This book is a great explainer to go with the movie （which was really good！） Recommended。 If you've seen the movie from 2021 House of Gucci， here's the book！ Reads more like a fiction novel it tells a story of the ultra-wealthy， a business empire， a complicated （and litigious） family， fashion， greed and revenge。 I'm not into luxury brands personally， but even I have heard of Gucci and Tom Ford。 This book is a great explainer to go with the movie （which was really good！） Recommended。 。。。more

S Sowell ，

One of the few books I have quit on。 It felt more like a newspaper article throughout instead of a cohesive piece of work。 I just didnt love it and decided to give up on it。 However， the Gucci story is crazy and full of madness/greed。 I plan to watch the movie and then come back to the book if needed。 Otherwise， I wouldnt waste your time on this one！

David Lockwood ，

Book was Guc but not Gucci。Too many lire conversions and un-interesting tangents。Business parts were very interesting。I did google and YouTube a lot of the characters。

Renae ，

I enjoyed the story。 It was a bit hard to follow at points。

David Fulmer ，

This is a pretty long book that tells the whole story of the Gucci fashion empire。 Beginning as a “Florentine mom-and-pop handbag shop” and growing to a global fashion brand name with over a billion dollars in sales of all kinds of leather goods， watches， and glasses in the late 1990s。 A lot of it describes the brilliant approach to retail and craftsmanship among Gucci family members but there is also a lot of feuding and antics as the Guccis seemingly never got along for any length of time。 Eve This is a pretty long book that tells the whole story of the Gucci fashion empire。 Beginning as a “Florentine mom-and-pop handbag shop” and growing to a global fashion brand name with over a billion dollars in sales of all kinds of leather goods， watches， and glasses in the late 1990s。 A lot of it describes the brilliant approach to retail and craftsmanship among Gucci family members but there is also a lot of feuding and antics as the Guccis seemingly never got along for any length of time。 Eventually they got involved with investors and what had been a family business for several generations ended up a public company with a lawyer， not a leather craftsman， for a CEO and Tom Ford designing red-hot fashions on the runways of Paris， Milan， and New York City。 It’s just after that when the tawdry murder takes place that gives this book it’s eye-catching subtitle。 Overall this is an interesting book that really takes an epic look at the way the fashion industry has evolved throughout the twentieth century， and there's quite a few digressions that are also of interest。 Forden has done a ton of research， in particular interviewing seemingly pretty much everyone who was there from the family business era up through the more corporate times。 The product of that research is a book about a fashion world legend packed with interesting characters。 。。。more

Michele ，

I prefer to read the book before I see the movie version， so I was happily surprised to find this book readily available at the library at the same time the film was released。 But now I understand why no one had checked it out。 Clearly the author spent a lot of time painstakingly researching her subject matter， and I can appreciate that。 But there were so many tedious， inconsequential， and trivial details， I found it absolutely painful to get through this book。 Do we need to know what Tom Ford a I prefer to read the book before I see the movie version， so I was happily surprised to find this book readily available at the library at the same time the film was released。 But now I understand why no one had checked it out。 Clearly the author spent a lot of time painstakingly researching her subject matter， and I can appreciate that。 But there were so many tedious， inconsequential， and trivial details， I found it absolutely painful to get through this book。 Do we need to know what Tom Ford ate on a first date？ Or the details of the decor of room a meeting was held in at in a hotel that is never mentioned again？ Was there an editor on this book？！ Most anyone interested in the story of Gucci knows it is a luxury brand， and the information about how some of the products were crafted was interesting。 Even the descriptions of the opulence of the stores were appropriate， but so much of this book was unnecessary filler。 If the pages were reduced by half， it would still be long enough to effectively describe all the major events， and would be a much better read。 。。。more

Arica ，

Total SNOOZER！ The "excitement" was the beginning and very end。 It was very long and dull in the middle。 It was also a chronological mess。 I wanted to read it before considering the movie but now I can see why the movie is getting bad reviews。 The plot is super thin。 Just a lot of details about where people went to school or worked previously。 Total SNOOZER！ The "excitement" was the beginning and very end。 It was very long and dull in the middle。 It was also a chronological mess。 I wanted to read it before considering the movie but now I can see why the movie is getting bad reviews。 The plot is super thin。 Just a lot of details about where people went to school or worked previously。 。。。more

Jo W ，

If you love fashion and history then this book is for you。 If you are looking for a salacious story of glamour， love and murder you should skip the book and watch the movie。

Hiral Arora ，

Probably one of the best fashion books I have ever read。 It would also be interesting to people not into fashion because it is like watching Dynasty but it is all real。 The movie does no justice to the book。 I love the lengths to which the author went to reconstruct whole dialogues based on the character’s frames of mind - which made reading the book feel like a novel instead of a biography。

basiek ，

This is such a good book！ To be honest， I was a bit sceptical about it—I didn’t want it to be another overwhelming book with many historical and boring facts。 But oh boy， I was so wrong！ It’s totally absorbing， written in a simple and engaging style， and includes a huge amount of facts， gossips and emotions。The author’s knowledge and research is definitely worth highlighting。 All in all， it’s a must read for everyone interested in fashion industry！

Thai Dang ，

Thrilling， detailed， even minutely so。 But the Gucci ride was so good I didn't want the book to end。 Thrilling， detailed， even minutely so。 But the Gucci ride was so good I didn't want the book to end。 。。。more

Kayla ，

A very interesting listen。 Who knew all the details and history of this family - so intricate from beginning to end。 I wonder if I missed out on pictures as I did the audiobook so I will probably check out the physical copy to see。

Andrea ，

There is such an interesting story in there， of family struggles， power， fashion and greed， but it got so mired in the company takeover narrative that it was hard to maintain steam reading this。 But I can't wait to see the movie， and Lady Gaga playing Patrizia！ There is such an interesting story in there， of family struggles， power， fashion and greed， but it got so mired in the company takeover narrative that it was hard to maintain steam reading this。 But I can't wait to see the movie， and Lady Gaga playing Patrizia！ 。。。more

Meg Chia （bibliophilogy） ，

check out my review here！Thank you to Times Reads for sending over this copy of House of Gucci in exchange for an honest review！ This is now available in all good bookstores so grab your copy！Three-word description : family， glamour， businessMy rating : 3。5 / 5 starsThis one is such an interesting one for anyone who thinks the title is interesting！ I am going to keep it short because this is quite filled with a lot of information and there could be potential spoiler so I wanted to avoid that！ Th check out my review here！Thank you to Times Reads for sending over this copy of House of Gucci in exchange for an honest review！ This is now available in all good bookstores so grab your copy！Three-word description : family， glamour， businessMy rating : 3。5 / 5 starsThis one is such an interesting one for anyone who thinks the title is interesting！ I am going to keep it short because this is quite filled with a lot of information and there could be potential spoiler so I wanted to avoid that！ This is quite a dense read for me， a thick book with tiny words so it took me quite some time to push through it！ At parts I feel engaged and intrigued to keep flipping the pages， but there are other times where I felt bored so I’d say the pace is quite uneven depending of what aspect you’re interested most in！Throughout the book， you will have some wow moments and some interesting bits here and there scattered so I’d still say read the book if you’re interested in the whole Gucci empire and the family！ I knew nothing about the business going into it and there’s definitely a lot of knowledge and information about the technical development of the company and brand if you’re up for the read！ I’d like to give props to the author for doing extremely detailed research going into the book， as I’ve seen professionals also agreeing with the fact that this book is a very well researched book！ Definitely one to pick up if you are into the fashion industry and particularly how Gucci works。I loved the insightful inner workings of the company that were covered in the book but I know it’s not for everyone！ If you are only interested in the tea and drama， you may be not entirely satisfied with the book but if you’re open to read about anything at all， then you really would enjoy this one！ I also need to watch the movie to see how it fares against the book but I’m pretty positive that the movie may serve better as to the extravagant settings and drama you’re looking for that aspect！Overall， I think if you are okay with a dense read jam-packed with information about the brand and you’re not hoping for that much true crime but more interested in the business side of things， you will really enjoy this book for sure！ I had fun reading this， struggled with some parts but it left a positive impact on me as I learn more about what goes in and out of such a huge brand！ 。。。more

Carly Battel ，

I work for an italian company and this book made things I hear and see daily make a lot more sense。 I am so inspired by Tom Ford and his vision that ultimately saved Gucci， which was easily my favorite part of the book。 Definitely a must read for fashion obsessed， and business minded people。 I definitely think the Gucci’s would and still do rival any famous family for the most dramatic group of people to exist。

Pat ，

I saw the movie over Thanksgiving weekend， and while it was a bit slow in spots， it got me interested in knowing more of the story。 And what a story it is with "unprecedented litigious antics of its second and third generations。。。" （p。 461）。 Yet "。。。blood ran thicker than company politics" as "Aldo Gucci had even tided his son Paolo over financially when the latter ran out of money after taking Gucci to court" （p。 463） and this is only a small part of the craziness that was the Gucci family。Now I saw the movie over Thanksgiving weekend， and while it was a bit slow in spots， it got me interested in knowing more of the story。 And what a story it is with "unprecedented litigious antics of its second and third generations。。。" （p。 461）。 Yet "。。。blood ran thicker than company politics" as "Aldo Gucci had even tided his son Paolo over financially when the latter ran out of money after taking Gucci to court" （p。 463） and this is only a small part of the craziness that was the Gucci family。Now some 100 years after its founding， no Gucci is involved in the business， and yet the brand has survived many ups and downs and seemingly is experiencing a resurgence in spite of all the family's woes。 。。。more

İlayda ，

A very sophisticated and complex book， a rather long， yet interesting read。 A good mix of business， scandal， and story telling。 If not interested in fashion history/business， might not be a good book。

Kathy （Bermudaonion） ，

Just about everyone has heard of the Italian luxury brand Gucci and I think we all like to know the wealthy have problems just like we do， so the subtitle of this book caught my attention。 The book starts out with a sensational crime， leading readers to believe it will be the focus of the story but it’s only a small part and， to be honest， it was the most interesting part to me。 I found all the names and business details tedious at times and thought about abandoning the book at one point。 I stuc Just about everyone has heard of the Italian luxury brand Gucci and I think we all like to know the wealthy have problems just like we do， so the subtitle of this book caught my attention。 The book starts out with a sensational crime， leading readers to believe it will be the focus of the story but it’s only a small part and， to be honest， it was the most interesting part to me。 I found all the names and business details tedious at times and thought about abandoning the book at one point。 I stuck with it， though， but there was no big reveal at the end。 Overall， the book was just okay for me。 。。。more

Carrie Lynn ，

The cover of this book promised me murder and glamor and I barely got either。 I would say only 10% of this insanely long book were actually about the parts the movie is based off of。 If you’re interested in corporate take overs and business drama， this is a great read。 But don’t read it for what the cover promises。 Hope the movie is better。

Brett McDowall ，

Excellent read all about business ， mergers ， family infighting ， fashion and murder - what’s not to like

Madeleine ，

sometimes i had to slog through the hefty corporate and business portions of the book but overall i really enjoyed it

Robin Crandall ，

I got a little bogged down by the history of the company but it was an interesting story。

Regina ，

The story of the Gucci family’s internecine struggles are akin to the Roys on HBO’s Succession， albeit with better shoes and handbags。 The shifting alliances between family members to wrest control of the company and the rivalries that led to company takeovers would be dramatic enough but this family adds a son turning his father over to authorities for income tax evasion， physical violence at board meetings （“What Italian father doesn’t slap his son every now and then？” Aldo later explains to t The story of the Gucci family’s internecine struggles are akin to the Roys on HBO’s Succession， albeit with better shoes and handbags。 The shifting alliances between family members to wrest control of the company and the rivalries that led to company takeovers would be dramatic enough but this family adds a son turning his father over to authorities for income tax evasion， physical violence at board meetings （“What Italian father doesn’t slap his son every now and then？” Aldo later explains to the press）， flying handbags， luxury living and even jail time。 There are so many legal battles between fathers， sons and cousins that at least two generations of Guccis probably spent more money on lawyers suing each other than they did on leather suppliers。And that’s only one third of the book。 Maurizio Gucci （third generation） becomes the victorious relative atop the family corporation by successfully conniving and outwitting his cousins after a lucky inheritance。 （It pays to be the only Italian son of a 50% stakeholder。） He is a man who owns the world’s finest boat but has to borrow money from his driver。 He has incredible tastes， mountains of debt， and is a very bad corporate manager。 Furthermore， he has one really pisssed off ex-wife。 After Maurizio loses control of the company （enter a Persian Gulf investment group - remember the 1990s？）， you would think that the salacious aspects of the family story would end。 But then he is assassinated on the steps of his office in Milan。 His narcissistic ex-wife hired a hit-man to carry out the deed through a bizarre set of intermediaries。 It looked like she was going to get away with it （the polizia were stymied for two years without a lead） when a craggy older man without money embellishes his past of nefarious deeds to impress another older man over a cappuccino at a side-walk café。 Not wanting to be outdone， the second guy tells the first guy that he was involved in Maurizio’s murder。 Guy #1 goes to the cops， who set up an elaborate sting operation and finally nab the wife + four accomplices。 The accomplices cave， everybody turns against each other， and the sensational court trial begins。 The “Black widow” wears Gucci outfits to court everyday and claims her innocence to the end。 She is found guilty and sentenced to prison， albeit not one where she has to work。 （“I've never worked in my life and I'm certainly not going to start now。” ）The rest of the book is the story of the corporation’s resurgence after it was no longer owned by the family。 This was the most conventional part of the story and quite frankly， not as interesting as the familial vicissitudes of the earlier chapters。 However， the descriptions of fashion houses， famous designers （who doesn’t love Tom Ford？）， luxury brands fighting to control one another， and the people who made Gucci work after Maurizio’s mismanagement were engaging。 The book ended with too much epilogue and afterward for my taste but I guess it saved me from Googling what’s happened in the 20 years since the first publication。So…。bottom line: Overall， this “it's-hard-to-believe-this-could-really-happen” story was well written and easy to read。 I did not know the full Gucci drama and wanted to read the book prior to watching the new movie。 It was probably a bit too long for the subject but it was a quick read and a fun way to spend the weekend。 （Also， I will never complain about my family or my boss again。） 。。。more

Angie Alvis ，

This book is more about the business side of the Gucci dynasty that interplays with the family turmoil and dynamics only as it relates to the business。 I found it interesting to read about but it was dry and dragged at times。

Chris ，

I read this book in anticipation of the release of the movie， because a book that inspires a movie is typically a decent read， plus they usually round out the story in the ways that movies can't/don't。 My expectation was that it would focus on the murder of Maurizio Gucci and the aftermath， since that's been the focus in all the publicity。 Wrong。 As it turned out， this book was much more than that -- and unfortunately， not in a good way。 The book is an exhaustively researched， painstakingly （a I read this book in anticipation of the release of the movie， because a book that inspires a movie is typically a decent read， plus they usually round out the story in the ways that movies can't/don't。 My expectation was that it would focus on the murder of Maurizio Gucci and the aftermath， since that's been the focus in all the publicity。 Wrong。 As it turned out， this book was much more than that -- and unfortunately， not in a good way。 The book is an exhaustively researched， painstakingly （and often puzzlingly） detailed recounting of everything Gucci， starting from the history of Florence and ending with corporate bids for hostile takeovers， with a healthy dose of the egomania， misogyny， selfishness， and sheer stupidity of numerous Gucci family members thrown in for good measure。 While it was certainly interesting to discover how the company was started by Guccio Gucci， and came to be a fixture on the luxury goods landscape through the efforts of his son Aldo， the book gets so bogged down in providing a detailed blow-by-blow of every single fact within a 50-mile radius of anything Gucci that the read becomes tedious。 I don't know about you， but I don't need a history lesson in Renaissance Florence， nor do I need to know what color tie Aldo Gucci wore in July， 1978。 Indeed， by the time you get to Maurizio's murder and the resulting arrests， which is about 60% into the book （if you even make it that far）， the event has lost its impact on the reader because the book is just so bogged down and mired in needless detail。 And the worst part of all is that this vast expanse of information doesn't really have any shape --the voice of the author is silent except for the smallest， safest， and most obvious conclusions about the cast of characters。 So by the end of the book， I was left feeling like this whole excursion was pointless and a huge waste of time。 I was also left wondering who edited this book， and how they manage to keep their job。 Sometimes more isn't better; it's just more。 。。。more

Anindita Ghosh ，

ⒷⓄⓄⓀ ⓇⒺⓋⒾⒺⓌThe House of Gucci Author: Sara Gay FordenGenre: True crime， BiographyMy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you @HarperCollinsin for sending a copy of this masterpiece to me。 This is the true story of Florence's Gucci family， who built the famous brand Gucci more than a century ago。 After climbing the rocky hills of ambition， pride， ego， mistrust， miscommunication， betrayal， love， passion， crime， murder and bankruptcy， Gucci became what it is now。 The story started with the murder scene of Maurizio ⒷⓄⓄⓀ ⓇⒺⓋⒾⒺⓌThe House of Gucci Author: Sara Gay FordenGenre: True crime， BiographyMy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you @HarperCollinsin for sending a copy of this masterpiece to me。 This is the true story of Florence's Gucci family， who built the famous brand Gucci more than a century ago。 After climbing the rocky hills of ambition， pride， ego， mistrust， miscommunication， betrayal， love， passion， crime， murder and bankruptcy， Gucci became what it is now。 The story started with the murder scene of Maurizio Gucci， who was the last person from Gucci family to own the company。 The book revolves around the mind blowing and interesting story of the ups and downs of the family， their life， the company and their fate。 When I started the book， I did not realize it's going to grasp me so completely。 The author has intricately woven such intense facts with simple wordplay。 It was almost like magic to read this。 If you are interested in reading true crime， or maybe liked the movie， you should give this book a try。 Do you read a lot of true crimes？ What will you recommend to me from this genre？ 。。。more

Daniel ，

I stopped reading after the book went into so much detail about Maurizio's and Patrizia's relationship。 I stopped reading after the book went into so much detail about Maurizio's and Patrizia's relationship。 。。。more

Tifanee ，

So boring。 DNF

Liz ，

Reading The House of Gucci was like going to a different planet。 I know nothing about luxury goods， wealth， Italian family dynamics， Italian culture， business， trends， high fashion， etc。 etc。 etc。 What a wild family story。 Gucci's beginning as a quality bag and luggage manufacturer seems like a quaint memory in light of the amount of drama， near collapse， and lawsuits in its history。 I read this because I was interested in the new movie coming out。 After reading this， I'm not sure I want to see Reading The House of Gucci was like going to a different planet。 I know nothing about luxury goods， wealth， Italian family dynamics， Italian culture， business， trends， high fashion， etc。 etc。 etc。 What a wild family story。 Gucci's beginning as a quality bag and luggage manufacturer seems like a quaint memory in light of the amount of drama， near collapse， and lawsuits in its history。 I read this because I was interested in the new movie coming out。 After reading this， I'm not sure I want to see the movie anymore。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0