The Swans of Fifth Avenue: A Novel

Terrifically written and well-researched, Ms Benjamin has stuck very close to the truth here. Raised in New York, I was in sophmore year of college in NYC when Answered Prayers first hit the newstands. I was too busy to pay much attention, but my mother did, and filled me in on all the details. I had read all of Capotes works, whereas my mother was a devotee of the comings and goings of NY, Society in those days. We filled each other in. She knew all the key players, whom I had not heard of, such as Slim and Babe. I remember the shock value this had on members of both the press & the public alike. What I loved about this novel, was it built upon the relationship between Capote and Babe Paley, fleshed out through the dialogue. It showed the interdependency the two had for one another, the devotion they had right through to the end. Great book!

As a new college graduate making her way in 1960s Manhattan, I was a voracious reader of the society pages in the NY Times and the Post. Charlotte Curtis and her NY Post counterpart wrote constantly about the famous ladies who lunched, and I was enthralled. I could not get my fill of Babe, C.Z., Slim, Gloria and Pamela. For me, these women, wearing impeccable clothes and jewelry and always perfectly coiffed and mannered, held great fascination. She even mentioned the ubiquitous Prince Serge Obolensky!With this experience as background, I could not wait to read "The Swans of Fifth Avenue" all these years later. Melanie Benjamin, like Truman Capote, wrote a nonfiction novel, and I loved every word. In today's world, the swans are an anachronism, but in pre-Vietnam War New York, they were idolized by many. Younger readers may be perplexed by a near obsession with women whose seemingly only claim to fame was old money, a rich husband, beautiful clothes and unattainable panache. In today's world, the glorious swans have been replaced by the Kardashian family; I much prefer the swans!Although the book is fiction, with fabricated conversations, I found it to be entirely believable. Truman Capote became a member of the group - that is true - and it was not a stretch to believe that he became a much-loved confidante.Babe Paley, the epitome of understated glamour and the most written about swan, developed a relationship with Capote that was almost pathological. Unhappy in her marriage to television scion, William S. Paley, she spent hour upon hour spilling her heart to Capote, often while he lay with his head in her lap. As a flamboyant gay man, Capote presented no threat to her husband and, in fact, was welcomed as a cover to Bill Paley's serial philandering.When "In Cold Blood" hit The New Yorker and later, bookstores, Truman Capote became a literary darling. His swans adored him even more, if that was possible. Their eccentric Truman made the rounds of late night talk shows, a little gauche to be sure, but the swans continued to revel in his new found fame. They were fascinated by his description of a nonfiction novel and his uncanny ability to get inside the heads of his subjects.How well I remember Truman Capote's Black and White Ball, his paean to himself. Just as Melanie Benjamin wrote, it was the talk of New York for months. Many like me living on the outside took vicarious pleasure in dissecting the leaked guest list and the description of the grand party. Little did anyone know that the ball marked the end of an era. Tattered jeans and ironed hair began to replace Chanel suits and biweekly visits to Kenneth.Having lived in New York on the cusp of the feminist movement, I found moments of great sadness in the story. The swans of Fifth Avenue were famous for being famous. Each woman, especially Babe Paley, treated her body as an artist views a blank canvas. I tried (unsuccessfully) to imagine myself never being seen without perfect makeup and hair, even upon first waking. Bill Paley never saw his unadorned wife because, to Babe, appearance was her only currency. The contrast between Kay Graham, one of the most powerful women in the world, and Babe Paley was a stunning example: Ms. Graham, the guest of honor at Truman's ball, had never heard of Kenneth and (horrors!) wore a cloth coat.As a bonus, Melanie Benjamin incorporated Ann Woodward, the subject of Dominick Dunne's nonfiction fiction, "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles" into the story. A more successful writer than Truman Capote, Dominick Dunne loved to insinuate himself into high society, always with a book in mind.Melanie Benjamin, author of "The Aviator's Wife", kept me in her grips again. Her writing is impeccable. The story flowed flawlessly, and the characters were exactly as I expected. I highly recommend the book to everyone, especially to those who remember the simpler days.

A GREAT follow up to Capotes Women! I highly recommend both books!

Three and a half stars.Well-researched and pleasantly gossipy, "The Swans of Fifth Avenue" explores the symbiotic, ultimately destructive emotional/psychological romance between Truman Capote and his bevy of socialites, especially the iconic Babe Paley. One of the enjoyable aspects of the book is that thanks to the internet, you can look up people's photos while you're reading about them, which feels simultaneously fun and a little stalker-ish.There are parts of this novel that work very well, particularly the author's sensitivity to Babe Paley's inner world, and what might have drawn her to Capote. It is less successful in its speculative exploration of why Capote destroyed himself and his world by betraying the confidences of his glittering coterie in the thinly veiled "Answered Prayers."To enjoy this book, you'll have to be willing to set aside any inherent annoyance you may have at being asked to sympathize with the woes of beautiful, insanely wealthy and privileged socialites who face the tragedy of passing time. Oh, these exquisite trophy wives! As they age, it becomes harder and harder to *be perfect*! They become--oh God, no!--*aesthetically irrelevant and invisible.* It was all I could do not to scream aloud, "BRING ME THE TINIEST VIOLIN" and/or "TRY SPENDING YOUR WHOLE LIFE AS IRRELEVANT AND INVISIBLE AND THEN GET BACK TO ME." But of course, this is merely sour grapes on my part. Surely I have it in me to summon some sympathy for a woman whose only real asset is her looks, and who sees that this asset has no compounding interest...when it's gone, it's gone.But still, this is not a novel about people who are attaining any philosophical insight or making the world the better place. It's about vain, wealthy people who exploit their privilege--and about a man who is very vain though not wealthy or privileged but who desperately wants to belong to their world, and the ways in which he panders to that world in order to be part of it. There's certainly a lesson to be learned here--"Don't be a jerk"--but honestly, if that's a lesson you need to learn, chances are you aren't open to it from any venue, and certainly not from mainstream fiction.So--we're back to the gossipy, social-whirl quality of the novel being the reason to read it, and most of the time, that's reason enough. It's entertaining while also being maddening, and although the people in it are dead and gone, they died and went recently enough that the book still feels as if we're being given a glimpse of something scandalous and forbidden.The novel would have benefited greatly from a more focused edit--every woman's feet are described as "long and narrow"; Capote is described as having a "cleft jaw" (rather than a cleft chin); there are sloppy word and phrase repetitions. In the opening scene, the "swans" are dining at their favorite restaurant, and we are told that they never eat, so that they will remain thin and worthy of being seen; however, later in the novel one of these same characters is described as being not-thin, and at the end of the book she's enjoying the heavy French cuisine in a scene set shortly after the opening, so--seriously, a little continuity editing goes a long way, folks. These are only a few examples of the many times I sighed in annoyance, but my tolerance for this kind of thing is notoriously limited, and your mileage may vary.Overall: A frothy romp whose foam sometimes coalesces sufficiently to support something of substance, but you'll probably enjoy this more if you are, like most of the characters, in a pleasantly altered state of mind. Recommended for post-cocktail-hour relaxation.

Being a huge fan of the writings of Truman Capote and interested in that period of time in New York, I was looking forward to reading this book to flesh out what I had already learned from reading Truman Capote's works. I was disappointed on two fronts, the first being the quality of the writing which was pretty average. If you're a reader of Truman Capote this isn't anywhere near the standard of writing that will keep you interested for very long. Secondly, I learnt nothing new. It had the overall effect of someone who has done their research and then tried to concoct an interesting (and at one point pretty ludicrous) story around it. The well known quotes and tales were obvious from a mile away and I really learnt nothing new at all. I ploughed on just in case there might be some hidden gem but, alas, there wasn't. The constant repetitiveness of the names of "The Swans" and the one-dimensional approach to these characters (apart from Babe Paley who she fleshed out a bit more) was really quite laughable. My advice would be to read Truman Capote and do a bit of research for yourself. Much more rewarding.

I remember my Mother reading the latest magazines, heck I remember my Mother emulating the style of the swans. Such overwhelming sadness in this book, for the women of this era, including my Mother. They truly believed they had to be the best that they could be for men. Their men they attempted to educate and dress, their homes they wanted to be stylish. They were lonely and flirted/ had affairs, drank too much, before their flame spluttered out. They were born too soon, when the Twiggys of this world arrived they were lost. Truman was cruel but accurate, even he was left behind in this modern world. I nearly gave up reading a few times because of its cloud of misery, but I am glad I did not. It reminded me of another book that affected me deeply, The Womens Room. We have moved on, sometimes for the good, sometimes I feel we lost out along the way once again. Now we get to work, raise children, clean, do the garden, have the mens roles really changed. Hmmmm....

Wonderful book! One of the best reads I've enjoyed in some years. Perhaps this is because I remember the society 'ladies who lunch' from the 60s and 70s, as well as the central figure Truman Capote. But this is so engagingly written I think it would be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys studying people. The lives of the rich and successful have always been fascinating, and the author manages to convey both the humanity and the pathos of the central characters. What sad and unfulfilled, and lonely, lives they often led, however gilded.

I enjoyed this book very much. Whilst vaguely familiar with the story and some of the characters, I found this version of their lives an easy and engrossing read. My only complaint - a minor one - was the author's note at the end. No need to tell us everything, is there? Storytellers should keep their secrets too. 😉

While I'm not really a fan of poor little rich girl stories I general this felt very real. The authors note says it best. One way or another they paid for their lifestyle. Truman himself I've always had a kind of morbid fascination with. He paid for his lifestyle as well. So I enjoyed how real it felt and to feel like I was behind the scene's kind of