Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-12 17:21:04
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Laurence Leamer
- ISBN：0593328086
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
J。
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For me this seemed like the nonfiction version of The Swans of Fifth Avenue。 Truman Capote was a genius， charming， witty and bright。 He adored the beautiful society women who had style and grace。 They were his best friends and he was their confidant。 It was a lovely thing in the beginning。 But， as so often happens， friendships are taken for granted， confidences are betrayed， talent succumbs to ego。 I enjoyed reading about Capote's early days and writing success。 The swans of society were also in For me this seemed like the nonfiction version of The Swans of Fifth Avenue。 Truman Capote was a genius， charming， witty and bright。 He adored the beautiful society women who had style and grace。 They were his best friends and he was their confidant。 It was a lovely thing in the beginning。 But， as so often happens， friendships are taken for granted， confidences are betrayed， talent succumbs to ego。 I enjoyed reading about Capote's early days and writing success。 The swans of society were also intriguing to read about。 But there was a sadness to them and to him。 。。。more
Linda Hutchinson
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A book titled Capote’s Woman is an oxymoron when discussing Truman Capote who was one of the most famous gay writers of his time。 The author， Laurence Leamer， knows Mr。 Capote was openly gay with a flamboyant， colorful， and entertaining personality。 I was a tremendous fan of his books， In Cold Blood and Breakfast At Tiffany’s which showcased his outstanding storytelling skills。 But it was his New York lifestyle that set him apart。 Capote came from nothing and was raised in a small south ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A book titled Capote’s Woman is an oxymoron when discussing Truman Capote who was one of the most famous gay writers of his time。 The author， Laurence Leamer， knows Mr。 Capote was openly gay with a flamboyant， colorful， and entertaining personality。 I was a tremendous fan of his books， In Cold Blood and Breakfast At Tiffany’s which showcased his outstanding storytelling skills。 But it was his New York lifestyle that set him apart。 Capote came from nothing and was raised in a small southern town。 His early life was one of abandonment by both of his parents who left him in the care of elderly Aunts。 When he came into the public view as an author， he was single-mindedly intent on befriending the most famous， fashionable， beautiful， and elegant women in New York City。 He succeeded by becoming their best friend and confidant as he wooed his “swans”。 However， Truman Capote was his own worst enemy and eventually lost the goodwill of his generous benefactors when he exposed some of their most embarrassing secrets。 His decline in death was a sad end to a spectacular life。 The author presented a different view of Mr。 Capote and I enjoyed learning more about each of the women who made up the beautiful swans。 Well done。 #trumancapote #swans #socialites #studio54 #biography #nonfiction #socialclimber @netgalley @laurenceleamer #capoteswomen @putnambooks 💎 💎 #reading #books #bookstagram #book #read #bookworm #booklover #bookish #bibliophile #booksofinstagram #booklovers #bookish #lindaleereads2021 #mmdbookclub #idratherbereading #readinglife #mmdsummerreading #summerreadingguide @modernmrsdarcy #mmdchallenge #AugustThank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book which absolutely delighted me。 Release Oct 3021。 。。。more
Katherine
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Capote's Women is a tome that honors women at a certain time in the history of America。 All possessing the motivation to live a life where they would be heard。 Creating an original voice outside the shadow of great men required transformative grit。 Their powerswere not to be trifled with。Truman Ultimately underestimated the bonds of their friendship and this is the extraordinary story。Leamer wrote an empowering tale。 His take is truly original。 Millennials， this is an opportunityto jump into a c Capote's Women is a tome that honors women at a certain time in the history of America。 All possessing the motivation to live a life where they would be heard。 Creating an original voice outside the shadow of great men required transformative grit。 Their powerswere not to be trifled with。Truman Ultimately underestimated the bonds of their friendship and this is the extraordinary story。Leamer wrote an empowering tale。 His take is truly original。 Millennials， this is an opportunityto jump into a chapter of women's history。Spellbinding， smart and beautiful。 A read you wont soon forget。 。。。more
willowdog
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I'll be the first to admit that at a grocery check out， I will always peruse the trash magazines featuring celebrities that I rarely know。 The titles are always fascinating to me。 Who is divorcing whom？ Who is dating whom？ I check out who is on Vanity Fair， knowing the articles are often too long for me to get into them。 It's a way of just be connected in this media frenzy world。 But what was it like before the internet？ Yes， there were a few publicists for newspapers and stars， but I don't reme I'll be the first to admit that at a grocery check out， I will always peruse the trash magazines featuring celebrities that I rarely know。 The titles are always fascinating to me。 Who is divorcing whom？ Who is dating whom？ I check out who is on Vanity Fair， knowing the articles are often too long for me to get into them。 It's a way of just be connected in this media frenzy world。 But what was it like before the internet？ Yes， there were a few publicists for newspapers and stars， but I don't remember it to be so all encompassing。 Enter Capote's Women by Laurence Leamer。 Leamer focuses on the seven swans that Capote had said that he was writing about since the fifties in his novel Answered Prayers which he finally published in the 60's。 Whatever one thought of the sleepy and conservative 40's and 50's is laid to rest for these ladies of wealth and prestige。 Using a terrific bibliography， the lives， loves， and follies of Marella Agnelli， Lee Radziwill， C。Z。 Guest， Slim Keith， Gloria Guinness， Barbara 'Babe' Paley and Pamela Harriman are brought to life。 And what lives they had！ For me， it was a complete revelation。 Capote's relationships with his swans is noted， but the real value is the peak into the stratospheric lives of the super wealthy。Thanks to Edelweiss/Above the Treeline for this electronic copy in exchange for an unbiased review。 。。。more
C。G。 Twiles
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One of the more fascinating aspects of Truman Capote's life， and which was not delved into in the Oscar-winning movie made of it， was probably the most fundamental part， equal to his honing of his writing talent - Capote absolutely adored a certain kind of woman， and he carefully selected and then tended to and eventually betrayed those women。 He called these women - all beautiful， thin， rich， talkative， entertaining， and varying degrees "of good birth"- his "swans。" They were "socialites" - a b One of the more fascinating aspects of Truman Capote's life， and which was not delved into in the Oscar-winning movie made of it， was probably the most fundamental part， equal to his honing of his writing talent - Capote absolutely adored a certain kind of woman， and he carefully selected and then tended to and eventually betrayed those women。 He called these women - all beautiful， thin， rich， talkative， entertaining， and varying degrees "of good birth"- his "swans。" They were "socialites" - a breed hardly anyone even thinks about anymore， certainly not with the degree of awe and fascination they inspired for what author Laurence Leamer astutely concludes was only one generation。Leamer devotes his book equally to Capote and to the swans， who all get their own mini-biographies - and now I have much more reading to do！ Some of the swans are insufferable （C。Z。 Guest）， some fascinating （Pamela Harriman）， and some tragic （Babe Paley）。 Virtually all of them， if alive today， would have been completely different people - probably with millions of Instagram followers， brand ambassadors， licensing deals for home furnishings， etc。 They would have been aristocratic Martha Stewarts。 But all of these women， all of them intelligent -they HAD to be to hang with Truman - were products of their time， raised with one goal in mind - marry a rich "proper" （ie "well-bred"） man。 Would the man cheat？ Of course。 Would he be an alcoholic？ Sure。 Would he be an abuser？ Possibly。 Would he be much older and boring？ Likely。 None of it mattered so long as he could afford a country estate， a yacht， and a Manhattan penthouse。It's clear why Truman was obsessed with these women - they are surrogates for his own mother， who repeatedly charmed and then abandoned Truman throughout his life。 His mother too was a product of her time - obsessed with class， social structure， "breeding，" and marrying well。 Her plans didn't include a flamboyantly gay son， no matter how talented。In the end， Truman's love for his swans was dwarfed by the writer who wanted to be the next Proust， and he mined the ladies' secrets and intimacies for a couple of gossipy articles。 These were supposedly part of his magnus opus - Answered Prayers - and it's debatable whether or not he even wrote any more of it than that。 The book is far more famous for having NOT been written than it likely would have been if it had。 Perhaps， on some level， Truman， who has a keen sense of publicity， knew this。At the end of his life， all of his "swans" - in true tragic style - abandoned him。 But this only added to Truman's posthumous allure。Author Laurence Leamer is balanced in his reporting - and he saves his almost gushing admiration for the swans for his liner notes。 Otherwise， he is clear-eyed， seeing not only the swans' many attributes， but their many faults， and also has empathy for their being such victims of their era， one that did not value women for their brains， but only their faces， their husbands， and their clothes。Today， I think Truman would have thrived。 He would have had millions of Twitter followers hanging on his every bitchy bon mot。 In reading many of his hilariously grandiose pronouncements， I couldn't decide whether he was trolling。 Perfect for Twitter！In the end， Truman will be known for three things - In Cold Blood， Breakfast at Tiffany's， and his swans。Thank you so much to Laurence Leamer for personally gifting me this ARC of this fabulous book。 。。。more
3 Things About This Book
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Everyone knows about Capote's swans。 They were the creme de la creme of the world's jetsetters。 They got best of everything: houses， cars， yachts， dresses， dinners and of course surnames。 While divorce was such a no no thing in the society， it was nothing for these women。 They did not want to drop those surnames when they signed divorce agreements because more they had more status they got。 All they thought about was thinking what to wear on next occasion。。。 I cannot blame Capote when he thought Everyone knows about Capote's swans。 They were the creme de la creme of the world's jetsetters。 They got best of everything: houses， cars， yachts， dresses， dinners and of course surnames。 While divorce was such a no no thing in the society， it was nothing for these women。 They did not want to drop those surnames when they signed divorce agreements because more they had more status they got。 All they thought about was thinking what to wear on next occasion。。。 I cannot blame Capote when he thought swans were nothing but a prop。 But he forgot that when it came to protecting their image and their privilege， these swans would write off anyone in the blink of an eye。 Capote thought he was irreplaceable for all he knew and all he could say; however， what makes his knowledge valuable was value the swans put on him。 The moment he was no one for swans， he was no one for everyone。 This book is a bite size biographies of those swans who both made and broke Truman Capote。 If he wasn't part of their clan， he could have been the all American author everyone praising。 Yet he fell into their trap and lost all he was and all he could be。 。。。more
Elisabeth
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This book was just as I hoped it would be。 All the juicy info of the glamorous time of the Swans of New York。 This is a time period near and dear to me and Leamer offered great insight into each Swan's life and connection with Capote。 I read and loved Melanie Benjamin's The Swans of Fifth Avenue。 Capote's Women offered a little more detailed information。 This book was just as I hoped it would be。 All the juicy info of the glamorous time of the Swans of New York。 This is a time period near and dear to me and Leamer offered great insight into each Swan's life and connection with Capote。 I read and loved Melanie Benjamin's The Swans of Fifth Avenue。 Capote's Women offered a little more detailed information。 。。。more
Tammy
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Review TK
Rachel
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Capote’s Women by Laurence Leamer is an enlightening and fascinating nonfiction that takes the reader into the lives， relationships， and mysteries of the fabulous， glamorous， and larger then life ladies （Swans） that were associated with the enigmatic author Truman Capote。 I already knew a little about Capote， but the author does a fabulous job unearthing so much information that not only informs the reader of his friendships， muses， and the high society ladies that he was writing about， but also Capote’s Women by Laurence Leamer is an enlightening and fascinating nonfiction that takes the reader into the lives， relationships， and mysteries of the fabulous， glamorous， and larger then life ladies （Swans） that were associated with the enigmatic author Truman Capote。 I already knew a little about Capote， but the author does a fabulous job unearthing so much information that not only informs the reader of his friendships， muses， and the high society ladies that he was writing about， but also his rise and downfall。 Through the snippets， biographies， and stories regarding each woman， one gets even more insight into the author himself。 I loved that I learned not just about the volatility of the Author and his disappointing attempt to achieve that next high， that elusive bump of fame， that he attempted to write a novel about the very women that helped land him where he was。 I loved learning more about these imperfect， glamorous， and old-Hollywood women and how each one was tied in with Capote。 Some of the women I sadly knew nothing about， so this book was a wealth of information。 Clearly the author took a considerable amount of time in regards to the research that was done for this book。 The author did a stellar job of balancing the large amount of information into a concise， clear， and appropriate format， length， and overall structure that made this feel less like nonfiction and more like a wondrous historical fiction。 I learned so much， yet had so much fun while doing it。 An excellent insight into a talented， complicated， and complex man and the wonderful cast of women that helped shape his life， as well as many others， at that time and for decades thereafter。I highly recommend。5/5 stars Thank you EW and G。P。 Putnam’s Sons for this fascinating arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion。I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon， Instagram， and B&N accounts upon publication on 10/12/21 。。。more
Natalie
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