Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era

Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era (2021) is a nonfiction book by American journalist and author Laurence Leamer. The book explores the friendships between literary icon Truman Capote (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, In Cold Blood) and the most famous women of his day: Babe Paley, Slim Keith, Pamela Hayward, Gloria Guinness, C.Z. Guest, Marella Agnelli, and Lee Radziwill. As Truman navigates these relationships, he begins work on a new novel, Answered Prayers, which will expose the dark secrets of high society’s most prominent figures. The book is nonchronological, weaving these women’s stories with details from Truman’s life, culminating in the scandal surrounding the release of an excerpt from Answered Prayers. Major themes in the novel include Marriage as a Business Arrangement, childhood and Parenting Among the Social Elite in Mid-Century America, and Self-Presentation as an Art Form.

The guide refers to the 2021 Putnam eBook edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of substance use and addiction, sexual and physical abuse, and death by suicide.