Capote's women : a true story of love, betrayal, and a swan song for an era / Laurence Leamer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Leamer, Laurence, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Capote, Truman, 1924-1984--Friends and associates.

Capote, Truman.

Capote, Truman, 1924-1984. Answered prayers.

Capote, Truman, 1924-1984.

Friends and associates.

New York (N.Y.)--Social life and customs--20th century.

New York (N.Y.).

National Book Committee.

Manners and customs.

Authors, American--20th century--Biography.

Authors, American.

Friendship.

New York (State)--New York.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

x, 356 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, [2021]

Summary:

"'There are certain women,' Truman Capote wrote, 'who, though perhaps not born rich, are born to be rich.' Barbara 'Babe' Paley, Gloria Guinness, Marella Agnelli, Slim Hayward, Pamela Churchill, C. Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill (Jackie Kennedy's sister) -- they were the toast of midcentury New York, each beautiful and distinguished in her own way. These women captivated and enchanted Capote -- and at times, they infuriated him as well. He befriended them, received their deepest confidences, and ingratiated himself into their lives. Then, in one fell swoop, he betrayed them in the most surprising and shocking way possible. Bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer delves into the years following the acclaimed publication of Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1958 and In Cold Blood in 1966, when Capote struggled with a crippling case of writer's block. While enjoying all the fruits of his success -- including cultivating close friendships with the richest and most admired women of the era -- he was struck with an idea for what he was sure would be his most celebrated novel... one based on the remarkable, racy lives of his very, very rich friends. For years, Capote attempted to write what he believed would have been his magnum opus, Answered Prayers. But when he eventually published a few chapters in Esquire, the thinly fictionalized lives (and scandals) of his closest female confidantes were laid bare for all to see. The blowback incinerated his relationships and banished Capote from their high-society world forever... a world that was already crumbling, though none of them realized it yet. Laurence Leamer recreates in detail the lives of these fascinating swans, their friendships with Capote and one another, and the doomed quest to write what could have been one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century." -- From publisher's description.

"New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote's never-published final novel, Answered Prayers--the dark secrets, tragic glamour, and Capote's ultimate betrayal of the group of female friends he called his "swans.""-- Provided by publisher.

Barbara 'Babe' Paley, Gloria Guinness, Marella Agnelli, Slim Hayward, Pamela Churchill, C. Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill-- they were the toast of midcentury New York, each beautiful and distinguished in her own way. These women captivated and enchanted Capote-- and infuriated him as well. He befriended them, received their deepest confidences, and then betrayed them in his unfinished novel, Answered Prayers, the thinly fictionalized lives (and scandals) of his closest female confidantes. Leamer shows that, in the late 1960s, Capote struggled with a crippling case of writer's block; Answered Prayers was supposed to be his magnum opus but instead banished Capote from high-society forever. -- adapted from jacket

Contents:

Answered Prayers

Babe in the Woods

Lilies of the Valley

Slim Pickings

The Marital Game

The Notorious Mrs. C

A Tub of Butter

Gloria in Excelsis

"She Is"

A Guest in the House

A Time of Reckoning

Only Maids Fall in Love

Divided Lives

Princess from an Ancient Realm

Fairy Tales

Everything

"Naaaah, They're Too Dumb"

The Good Pocket

Afterword

The Swans.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Beardwood Fund bookplate.

Other Format:

Online version: Leamer, Laurence. Capote's women

ISBN:

9780593328088

0593328086

OCLC:

1237101127