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“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “In Cold Blood” can probably be considered Truman Capote’s most famous works. Capote was an American writer, bon vivant and a literary celebrity in the later half of the 20th century. I am, of course, familiar with his most well known works, but I didn’t know much else about him, except that Philip Seymour Hoffman won an Academy Award for Best Actor for portraying him in the film “Capote.”
Melanie Benjamin’s “The Swans of Fifth Avenue” was released in January. It’s a love story of sorts, detailing the intense friendship between Capote and Babe Paley, the gorgeous, perfect socialite who he met in the 1950’s. Babe became Capote’s muse and he her confidante. She shared with him the secrets of her marriage, as well as the various scandals of her social set. He became a mascot of sorts to the women she was friends with, the beautiful, famous socialites that she surrounded herself with. He referred to them as his swans and he adored them all.
While he was socializing with them, he was gathering material for his writing. After 20 years of friendship, in 1975, Capote published “La Cote Basque, 1965”, an excerpt from a novel he never finished. In the story, a socialite named Lady Ina Coolbirth shared stories about all her wealthy and fabulous friends. Babe Paley recognized one of the anecdotes as a situation she shared with her friend.
She never spoke to Capote again.
The publication of that excerpt marked Capote’s downfall. He never published the novel in full and was shunned by his former friends. He turned to drugs and alcohol as his personal life fell apart and he spent years in and out of rehab.
He died in 1984.
“The Swans of Fifth Avenue” tells the story of Truman’s friendship with Babe Paley and the other society women with whom he was close. It details the fabulous wealth of these women including the incredible parties they threw and attended, the clothes they wore, the houses they owned. The plot begins in 1975, in the aftermath of the publication of “La Cote Basque, 1965” as the swans reel from Capote’s betrayal.
The story then goes back in time to introduce all the women and their friendships with Capote. The book is told from the perspective of Capote, Babe Paley, her husband, Bill Paley and several of the swans: Slim Keith, Pamela Churchill Harriman and Diana Vreeland. We learn about how Capote catapulted to fame after publishing “In Cold Blood,” which he claimed was the first of a new genre: a nonfiction novel.
The plot culminates in a gorgeous Black and White Ball at the Plaza, which is told from the perspective of multiple guests, including Frank Sinatra and Marie Dewey (who was married to the sheriff from “In Cold Blood”). This ball was the pinnacle of Capote’s life as a part of New York City high society, but sadly, not long after, he fell from grace.
I found “The Swans of Fifth Avenue” fascinating. While I knew who Capote was, I was unfamiliar with most of his swans. I was frequently distracted from the book because I kept looking up all the characters and getting sucked into their lives, which is a testament to Benjamin’s story. It did take me longer to read because I was so into the various characters and learning more about them and Capote as well. My one complaint was that the timeline was a little unclear. I wish each chapter had started off with what year it was because it was hard to tell how long Capote had been involved with his swans’ lives or how long certain characters had been estranged from each other, etc.
Overall though, this was a great book: an entertaining look at larger than life Manhattan celebrities from the mid-1950s.
I highly recommend it!
