Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jan 2016
368 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
The New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator's Wife returns with a triumphant new novel about New York's "Swans" of the 1950s - and the scandalous, headline-making, and enthralling friendship between literary legend Truman Capote and peerless socialite Babe Paley.
Of all the glamorous stars of New York high society, none blazes brighter than Babe Paley. Her flawless face regularly graces the pages of Vogue, and she is celebrated and adored for her ineffable style and exquisite taste, especially among her friends - the alluring socialite Swans Slim Keith, C. Z. Guest, Gloria Guinness, and Pamela Churchill. By all appearances, Babe has it all: money, beauty, glamour, jewels, influential friends, a high-profile husband, and gorgeous homes. But beneath this elegantly composed exterior dwells a passionate woman - a woman desperately longing for true love and connection.
Enter Truman Capote. This diminutive golden-haired genius with a larger-than-life personality explodes onto the scene, setting Babe and her circle of Swans aflutter. Through Babe, Truman gains an unlikely entrée into the enviable lives of Manhattan's elite, along with unparalleled access to the scandal and gossip of Babe's powerful circle. Sure of the loyalty of the man she calls "True Heart," Babe never imagines the destruction Truman will leave in his wake. But once a storyteller, always a storyteller - even when the stories aren't his to tell.
Truman's fame is at its peak when such notable celebrities as Frank and Mia Sinatra, Lauren Bacall, and Rose Kennedy converge on his glittering Black and White Ball. But all too soon, he'll ignite a literary scandal whose repercussions echo through the years. The Swans of Fifth Avenue will seduce and startle readers as it opens the door onto one of America's most sumptuous eras.
"Starred Review. Benjamin convincingly portrays a large cast of colorful historical figures while crafting a compelling, gossipy narrative with rich emotional depth." - Library Journal
"Benjamin's (The Aviator's Wife) fact-based narrative captures the era's juiciest scandals and wildest extravagances, but readers expecting the sympathetic protagonists of her earlier books may be disappointed by the diffuse and chilly cast of characters here." - Publishers Weekly
"Elegant Babe's thoughts, if not her lips, are unsealed at last. Those unaware of the scandal get CliffsNotes; and everyone else gets a chance to judge whether a swan's muteness can be more interesting than her gripe." - Kirkus
"The strange and fascinating relationship between Truman Capote and his 'swans' is wonderfully reimagined in this engrossing novel. It's a credit to Benjamin that we end up caring so much for these women of power, grace, and beauty - and for Capote, too." - Sara Gruen, New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants
"A delicious tale ... Melanie Benjamin has turned Truman Capote's greatest scandal into your next must-read book-club selection." - Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
"Reading The Swans of Fifth Avenue is like being ushered into a party where you're offered champagne and fed the sumptuous secrets of New York's elite- without having to pay the price afterward. The swans are outmatched only by the elegance of Melanie Benjamin's prose - captivatingly earnest and sophisticated." - Vanessa Diffenbaugh, New York Times bestselling author of The Language of Flowers
"The beautiful people of the fifties and sixties glitter in this riveting tale of betrayal and greed...Irresistible, astonishing, and told with verve...not to be missed." - Lynn Cullen, bestselling authorof Mrs. Poe
"From Truman Capote's devious charm to Babe Paley's tragic glamour, Melanie Benjamin conjures, in vivid detail, a lost world." - Michael Callahan, author of Searching for Grace Kelly
"A deliciously spiky novel of love and betrayal." - Alex George, author of A Good American
"Heart-rending ... at once gossipy, intimate, poignant, and astonishingly perceptive." - Robin Oliveira, bestselling author of I Always Loved You
"A compulsively readable tale of friendship, betrayal, tragedy, and unconventional love." - Renée Rosen, bestselling author of What the Lady Wants
"A beautifully written story of friendship, love, and betrayal, The Swans of Fifth Avenue is a fascinating look at a gossipy, glamorous world filled with brilliant and vulnerable people." - Edward Kelsey Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat
This information about The Swans of Fifth Avenue was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Deborah Feingold
Melanie Benjamin was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. An avid reader all her life - as a child, she was the proud winner, several years running, of the summer reading program at her local library - she still firmly believes that a lifetime of reading is the best education a writer can have.
While attending Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, Melanie performed in many community theater productions before meeting her husband, moving to the Chicago area and raising two sons. Writing was always beckoning, however, and soon she began writing for local magazines and newspapers before venturing into her first love, fiction. As Melanie Hauser, she published two contemporary novels.
By incorporating her passion for history and biography, Melanie, now writing as Melanie ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Melanie Benjamin's Website
Pieces of Blue
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
A hilarious and heartfelt novel for fans of Maria Semple and Emma Straub.
30 Copies to Give Away!
A funny and poignant debut novel that skewers billionaire-funded space travel in a love story of interplanetary proportions.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
