Published Year: 1969The Godfather is a
crime novel by American author
Mario Puzo. Originally published in 1969 by
G. P. Putnam's Sons, the novel details the story of a fictional
Mafia family in
New York City (and
Long Beach, New York), headed by
Vito Corleone. Puzo's
dedication for
The Godfather is "
For Anthony Cleri". The
epigraph for
The Godfather is "
Behind every great fortune there is a crime. -
Balzac." The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955 and provides the back story of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood.
The first in a
series of novels,
The Godfather is noteworthy for introducing Italian words like
consigliere,
caporegime,
Cosa Nostra, and
omertà to an English-speaking audience. It inspired a
1972 film of the same name. Two film sequels, including new contributions by Puzo himself, were made in
1974 and
1990. The first two films are widely held in high esteem as examples of the cinematic arts.