The Swans of Fifth Avenue (Hardcover)

The Swans of Fifth Avenue By Melanie Benjamin Cover Image
$28.00
Email or call for price

February 2016 Indie Next List


“Are you interested in the lifestyles of the rich and famous? Arrange your hair and makeup, darlings, and get ready to dish about the dirty little secrets in 1950s high society. Truman Capote collected 'swans' -- rich and glamorous women who floated through life pampered and indulged. This fictionalized account of the meteoric rise and very public fall of Capote, entwined with his deep friendship with Babe Paley and his ultimate betrayal of her and the rest of the swans, will slake your thirst for gossipy, breezy, scandalous details. Take off your wrap, pour a highball, and enjoy!”
— Cindy Pauldine (W), The River's End Bookstore, Oswego, NY

Description


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 entree 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

"A catty, juicy read that's like a three-martini lunch."--USA Today

" Captures] the mesmerizing sparkle and scandal of New York high society in the 1950s."--Chicago Tribune

"Tantalizing . . . Readers will fall into a world of glitz, glamour and the exciting life of the rich and famous. The details and conversations are so rich, you may forget you're reading a novel."--Associated Press

"Highly entertaining."--The Washington Post

"Take Gossip Girl and move it to the 50s."--theSkimm

"The strange and fascinating relationship between Capote and his 'swans' is wonderfully reimagined in this engrossing novel"--Sara Gruen, New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants

"Your next must-read book-club selection."--Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

About the Author


Melanie Benjamin is the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator's Wife, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, and Alice I Have Been. Benjamin lives in Chicago, where she is at work on her next historical novel.
Product Details
ISBN: 9780345528698
ISBN-10: 0345528697
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 26th, 2016
Pages: 368
Language: English