The role of women in the Italian mafias has long been overlooked. So who are they? Pure and virtuous Madonnas or dangerous Godmothers?Reduced to victim status and relegated to domestic life, women serve as the mafia's respectable facade: virtuous and docile. But, as Milka Kahn and Anne Veron reveal in this absorbing book, women have always been at the heart of Italy's criminal organisations. While the men are behind bars or on the run, it is left...

"The untold stories of the women who have risen to prominence and notoriety in the male-led culture of the Italian Mafia. For as long as it has gripped our imaginations, the Mafia has been tied to an ingrained image of masculinity. We read about "made men," "wiseguys," and "goodfellas" leading criminal organizations whose culture prizes machismo, with women as ancillary and often-powerless characters: trivialized mistresses and long-suffering mob...