Review of CAPOTE'S WOMEN
The rich lives of New York’s richest women
I devoured this book.
Perhaps it was because I had no idea who any of these people were when at their height of fame in the post-war years of New York City. Perhaps it was because I love gossip about the inner lives of the fabulously wealthy. Perhaps it was because this non-fiction book read (to me) like fiction. Whatever it was, Laurence Leamer delivered a phenomenal book.
Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era details the tangled private lives of mid-century socialites Barbara “Babe” Paley, Gloria Guinness, Slim Keith, Pamela Harriman, C.Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill (Jackie Kennedy’s sister), and Marella Angelli – the fabulously wealthy women Truman Capote dubbed his “swans”. The swans trusted the flamboyant and boisterous Truman, sharing with him all their secrets despite him later airing all their dirty lingerie to anyone willing to listen.
Leamer tells the stories of Truman’s swans in all their devilish details, revealing the calculating approaches to life of the high-society elite in this era. Marriage for these women was not for love or, hell, even mutual interest! Marriage to a proper man of proper wealth was what they were trained to do. And these women excelled, collecting rich men and personal fortunes with precision. These extravagant women “weren’t born rich, but were born to be rich” – and rich they became, rising to the pinnacle of New York’s elite social class.
But beyond the Vogue photo spreads, best dressed lists, and profile pieces were illustrious social lives, clandestine affairs, meticulously manicured public images, and deep insecurities. And there for it all was Truman, a man who chronicled these dirty secrets in what he promised would be his magnum opus: a “novel” called Answered Prayers. Truman eventually published excerpts of the book – but never the final manuscript – spilling his swan’s secrets in a great act of betrayal during his drug and alcohol fueled “swan song” that was the 1970s.
Capote’s Women is a book as fabulous as the women within its pages. This book was an delightful discovery on an impromptu trip to the bookstore and a perfect example of why I still browse bookstores in person – you never know what gem you’ll find. I listened to this one on audio and the performance of Carrington MacDuffie was excellent – really elevating the experience of this book. If you love wealthy gossip and fabulous women, this is the book for you.
Published: October 2021
Format: Audio
If you think this sounds interesting you may also enjoy these stories of other fabulous women:
Vera Rubin: A Life by Jacqueline Mitton and Simon Mitton (2021)
On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist by Clarissa Ward (2020)
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