Before he became the caricature most of us are familiar
with, Truman Capote was a handsome elfin charmer who
attracted women like moths to a flame to the utter
bafflement of men. Back in 1955, when Truman was barely
30, he was introduced to New York socialite darling Babe
Paley; it was a meeting of two souls desperate for
unconditional love, which they found in each other. Their
extraordinary platonic love story endured for two
decades, until betrayal shattered it all.
THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE were a small group of society
friends, every one of them with her little secrets, who
fell under the spell of the charismatic Truman. Babe
Paley, who died in 1978 and is still remembered today for
her exquisite style and timeless beauty, was a very
lonely woman whose sole purpose in life was the pursuit
of perfection, as drilled into her by her family. When
she met Truman, her life was changed forever.
THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE feels like thumbing through old
issues of Vanity Fair and Vogue, as the author meticulously
recreates the glittery allure of the Beautiful People's
Manhattan of the 1950s and 1960s. After finishing the
book, it dawned on me how well Ms. Benjamin conveyed the
various moods of the book: one part is breezy, breathless
and joyful as the Swans bask in the gossipy, sparkling
relative insouciance of their golden life, then the tone
shifts slightly as Truman achieves greater success and as
tiny cracks in their painstakingly maintained façades
begin to show. The latter part of THE SWANS OF FIFTH
AVENUE,
where all the beauty begins to wither, friendships are
tried, bosom buddies betrayed in the name of fame, and when
Truman
faces a writer's
block from which he never recovers and which changed him
permanently that the author really displays her writing
skills.
While Ms. Benjamin embroiders on mundane details, THE
SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE is based on facts. It is a vivid
chronicle of a golden era, but more than that, it made me
wish I had known Babe Paley, because the perfect fashion
icon hid a woman whom I would have liked to have called
my friend.
The New York Times bestselling author of The
Aviator’s Wife returns with a triumphant new novel about
New York’s “Swans” of the 1950s—and the scandalous,
headline-making, and enthralling friendship between literary
legend Truman Capote and peerless socialite Babe Paley.
Of all the glamorous stars of New York high society, none
blazes brighter than Babe Paley. Her flawless face regularly
graces the pages of Vogue, and she is celebrated and
adored for her ineffable style and exquisite taste,
especially among her friends—the alluring socialite Swans
Slim Keith, C. Z. Guest, Gloria Guinness, and Pamela
Churchill. By all appearances, Babe has it all: money,
beauty, glamour, jewels, influential friends, a prestigious
husband, and gorgeous homes. But beneath this elegantly
composed exterior dwells a passionate woman—a woman
desperately longing for true love and connection.
Enter Truman Capote. This diminutive golden-haired genius
with a larger-than-life personality explodes onto the scene,
setting Babe and her circle of Swans aflutter. Through Babe,
Truman gains an unlikely entrée into the enviable lives of
Manhattan’s elite, along with unparalleled access to the
scandal and gossip of Babe’s powerful circle. Sure of the
loyalty of the man she calls “True Heart,” Babe never
imagines the destruction Truman will leave in his wake. But
once a storyteller, always a storyteller—even when the
stories aren’t his to tell.
Truman’s fame is at its peak when such notable celebrities
as Frank and Mia Sinatra, Lauren Bacall, and Rose Kennedy
converge on his glittering Black and White Ball. But all too
soon, he’ll ignite a literary scandal whose repercussions
echo through the years. The Swans of Fifth Avenue
will seduce and startle readers as it opens the door onto
one of America’s most sumptuous eras.
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