Deliberate Cruelty : Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century

This glittering, "wild romp of a story, boldly and beautifully told" (Neal Thompson, author of The First Kennedys ) explores the intertwined fates of literary icon Truman Capote and infamous socialite Ann Woodward—featured in the hit TV series Feud: Truman Capote vs. The Swans —sweeping us to the upper echelons of Manhattan's high society, where falls from grace are all the more shocking. When Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, her life changed forever. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote. Acclaimed for his bestselling nonfiction book In Cold Blood , Capote was looking for new material and followed the scandal from beginning to end. Like Ann, he too had ascended from nobody to toast of the town, but he always felt like an outsider, even among the exclusive coterie of high society women who adored him. He decided the story of Ann's turbulent marriage would be the basis of his masterpiece—a novel about the dysfunction and sordid secrets revealed to him by his high society "swans"—never thinking that it would eventually lead to Ann's suicide and his own scandalous downfall. "A 20th-century morality tale of enduring fascination" (Laura Thompson, author of The Heiresses ), Deliberate Cruelty is a haunting cross between true crime and literary history that is perfect for fans of Furious Hours , Empty Mansions , and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil . Exploring the darkly intertwined fates of infamous socialite Ann Woodward and literary icon Truman Capote, sweeping us to the upper echelons of Manhattans high societywhere falls from grace are all the more shocking. When Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, her life changed forever. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote. Acclaimed for his bestselling nonfiction book 'In Cold Blood', Capote was looking for new material and followed the scandal from beginning to end. Like Ann, he too had ascended from nobody to toast of the town, but he always felt like an outsider, even among the exclusive coterie of high society women who adored him. He decided the story of Anns turbulent marriage would be the basis of his masterpiece a novel about the dysfunction and sordid secrets revealed to him by his high society swansnever thinking that it would eventually lead to Anns suicide and his own scandalous downfall. A 20th-century morality tale of enduring fascination (Laura Thompson, author of 'The Heiresses', 'Deliberate Cruelty' is a haunting cross between true crime and literary history that is perfect for fans of 'Furious Hours', 'Empty Mansions', and 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'. "Describes how author Truman Capote became obsessed with the true crime story of a Manhattan socialite who shot her banking heir husband in 1955, and discusses how publication of his book led to her suicide and his own scandalous downfall." Spanning five decades and set at the highest heights of Manhattan's cafe and literary societies, the story of two murders, two suicides, and the strangely intertwined fates of socialite Ann Woodward and literary superstar Truman Capote.