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The Swans of Fifth Avenue

By: Melanie Benjamin
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Paul Boehmer
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Publisher's Summary

New York Times best seller

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 number-one “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 listeners 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)

©2015 Melanie Benjamin (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

"The strange and fascinating relationship between Truman Capote and his 'swans' is wonderfully reimagined in this engrossing novel. It's a credit to Benjamin that we end up caring so much for these women of power, grace, and beauty - and for Capote, too." (Sara Gruen, New York Times best-selling author of Water for Elephants)

"Benjamin convincingly portrays a large cast of colorful historical figures while crafting a compelling, gossipy narrative with rich emotional depth." (Library Journal)

“Shamelessly gossipy...a catty, juicy read that’s like a three-martini lunch.”(USA Today)

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Another view of Capote

I was unsure about this book to begin with, but I really enjoyed it. It is well written, well read and I felt that the author's note at the end was a useful addition to the book.
I have read Capote's work, seen the movie where he is played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and read a lot about the Black and White Ball and about Capote's downfall and eventual death. This book, an 'imagined account' of Truman and his 'swans' is a great addition to the library of Capote fans and of those who are interested in social and, even in, fashion history. I look forward to reading more from this author.

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