Adapting the model that served her so well in Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation, Judith Mackrell takes three glamorous, eccentric, independent women as her subject, each of whom in turn presided over Venice’s “il palazzo non finite”. Wealthy Luisa Casati, muse and lover of the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, who threw legendary belle époque parties; British socialite Doris Castlerosse, who hosted film stars and royalty during the interwar years; and the New York heiress and art collector Peggy Guggenheim. Commissioned by the powerful Venier family in the mid-18th century, the building languished incomplete until “rescued from obscurity” by each of these fascinating women: “Luisa made it notorious; Doris made it smart; and Peggy transformed it not only into one of the world’s great museums, but one of the most beloved and most visited buildings in Venice.” Well researched, gloriously gossipy, a delightful, colourful story of reinvention and rebellion.

• The Unfinished Palazzo: Life, Love and Art in Venice by Judith Mackrell is published by Thames & Hudson (£19.95). To order a copy for £16.96 go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99