55 pages 1 hour read

The Swans of Fifth Avenue

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2016

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Summary and Study Guide

Overview

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin is a 2016 historical novel that tells a fictionalized version of the social and literary rise of writer Truman Capote, his friendship with a group of wealthy New York women he dubbed the “swans,” and the subsequent breakdown of these relationships. At the center of the story is the friendship between Truman and Babe Paley, the most “perfect” of the swans. However, after Truman publishes his infamous short story, “La Côte Basque 1965” in the November 1975 issue of Esquire magazine, the swans turn against him, angry at the fact that he has exposed their gossip to the wider world through lightly fictionalized versions of people in their circle. The story unfolds as the swans look back on their glory days, when Truman was at the center of their lives—especially Babe’s.

The page numbers refer to the 2016 Delacorte Press e-book edition.

Content Warning: The book features antisemitism, anti-gay prejudice, sexism, suicide, alcohol addiction, drug addiction, domestic violence, and implied sexual assault.

Plot Summary

After a brief, fairy-tale preface, The Swans of Fifth Avenue opens with a conversation among several of the titular swans at a luncheon on October 17,1975.

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