NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ā¢Ā TheĀ author of The Aviatorās Wife returns with a triumphant new novel about New Yorkās āSwansā of the 1950sāand the scandalous, headline-making, and enthralling friendship between literary legend Truman Capote and peerless socialite Babe Paley.
Peopleās Book of the Week ā¢Ā USA Todayās #1 āNew and Noteworthyā Book ā¢Ā Entertainment Weeklyās Must List ā¢ 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 friendsāthe 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 womanāa 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 entrĆ©e into the enviable lives of Manhattanās elite, along with unparalleled access to the scandal and gossip of Babeās powerful circle. Sure of the loyalty of the man she calls āTrue Heart,ā Babe never imagines the destruction Truman will leave in his wake. But once a storyteller, always a storytellerāeven when the stories arenāt his to tell.
Trumanās 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, heāll 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 Americaās most sumptuous eras.
Praise for The Swans of Fifth Avenue
āExceptional storytelling . . . teeming with scandal, gossip and excitement.āāHarperās Bazaar
āThis moving fictionalization brings the whole cast of characters back to vivid life. Gossipy and fun, itās also a nuanced look at the beauty and cruelty of a rarefied, bygone world.āāPeople
āThe era and the sordid details come back to life in this jewel of a novel.āāO: The Oprah Magazine