The Swans of Fifth Avenue: A Novel
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The 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.
People’s Book of the Week • USA Today’s #1 “New and Noteworthy” Book • Entertainment Weekly’s Must List • LibraryReads Top Ten Pick
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.
Praise for The Swans of Fifth Avenue
“Exceptional storytelling . . . teeming with scandal, gossip and excitement.”—Harper’s Bazaar
“This moving fictionalization brings the whole cast of characters back to vivid life. Gossipy and fun, it’s also a nuanced look at the beauty and cruelty of a rarefied, bygone world.”—People
“The era and the sordid details come back to life in this jewel of a novel.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
People’s Book of the Week • USA Today’s #1 “New and Noteworthy” Book • Entertainment Weekly’s Must List • LibraryReads Top Ten Pick
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.
Praise for The Swans of Fifth Avenue
“Exceptional storytelling . . . teeming with scandal, gossip and excitement.”—Harper’s Bazaar
“This moving fictionalization brings the whole cast of characters back to vivid life. Gossipy and fun, it’s also a nuanced look at the beauty and cruelty of a rarefied, bygone world.”—People
“The era and the sordid details come back to life in this jewel of a novel.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
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Community Reviews
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The Swans of New York by Melanie Benjamin
335 pages
What’s it about?
This novel is all about Truman Capote and his relationship with the “Swans of New York”- in actuality Babe Paley, Slim Keith, C.Z. Guest, Gloria Guinness, and Pamela Churchill. These women were the reigning queens of Manhattan’s high society in the late 1950’s and 60’s. This is a novel about a storyteller that could not resist telling a good story. He just never dreamed of what it would cost him.
What did I think?
I read Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” as a young adult and was mesmerized, as most of America was. Truman Capote was a talented writer but a tormented soul. He certainly makes for a fascinating character in a novel. He was a piece of work!
Should you read it?
This novel was just fun. It was a look into a world of wealth that is beyond imaginable. It was gossipy, sad, and interesting.
Quote-
“For that was what Babe did, it was her primary occupation. Acquisition. She sometimes thought of herself as a museum curator, only the museum was herself, her homes, her way of life.”
“Suddenly Gloria cringed, remembering something she’d told Truman not long ago, her head muddled by the false intimacy fueled by too much champagne and not enough food.”
If you like this try-
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
The Unfortunates by Sophie McManus
The Swans of New York by Melanie Benjamin
335 pages
What’s it about?
This novel is all about Truman Capote and his relationship with the “Swans of New York”- in actuality Babe Paley, Slim Keith, C.Z. Guest, Gloria Guinness, and Pamela Churchill. These women were the reigning queens of Manhattan’s high society in the late 1950’s and 60’s. This is a novel about a storyteller that could not resist telling a good story. He just never dreamed of what it would cost him.
What did I think?
I read Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” as a young adult and was mesmerized, as most of America was. Truman Capote was a talented writer but a tormented soul. He certainly makes for a fascinating character in a novel. He was a piece of work!
Should you read it?
This novel was just fun. It was a look into a world of wealth that is beyond imaginable. It was gossipy, sad, and interesting.
Quote-
“For that was what Babe did, it was her primary occupation. Acquisition. She sometimes thought of herself as a museum curator, only the museum was herself, her homes, her way of life.”
“Suddenly Gloria cringed, remembering something she’d told Truman not long ago, her head muddled by the false intimacy fueled by too much champagne and not enough food.”
If you like this try-
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
The Unfortunates by Sophie McManus
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