An Analysis of The Swans of Fifth Avenue, a Novel by Melanie Benjamin

The Swans of Fifth Avenue is a historical fiction novel by Melanie Benjamin. The subject of this novel a the behind the curtain of the famous friendships and infamous exploits of the iconic literary figure Truman Capote and his "Swans". He had been a literary darling since the publishing of his first novel, "Other Voices, Other Rooms”, was. Years later, he wrote "In Cold Blood", an extraordinary novel about the brutal murder of a Kansas farm family, brought him fame, wealth, and literary accolades beyond anything he'd experienced before.

Truman was a charming, enigmatic and openly gay man who attracted famous personalities ad himself was attracted to fame and the good life. His relationship with a group of wealthy women from New York's high society was the stuff of legends, as was his tragic betrayal of them and fall from grace. The Swans was a name coined by Truman Capote for the five most beautiful, stylish, wealthy and envied clique in New York high society during the 1950s.

These women were Babe Paley, Slim Keith, Gloria Guinness, C.Z. Guest and Pamela Churchill. All well married, perfectly groomed, had excellent connections and were the envy of all women in New York. They were hailed for their beauty, style and perfect lives. They brunched and lunched together at the finest establishments, where they were sure to be seen. This exclusive clique was fascinated by Truman Capote and took him under their wings, charmed by his uniqueness and fame.

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This novel explores his relationships with each of these women, how he gained their confidence, how he learnt the darkest secrets of New Yorks high society and what he did with it. It focuses particularly on his relationship with Babe Paley - the wife of CBS titan Bill Paley. She was considered to be most beautiful and chic woman in New York. Truman is drawn to her more than any of the other high society women he befriended. He was in awe of her grace, style, life, beauty - she was a symbol of the life he adored and wanted to have her in his life. Capote soon became Babe's closest friend who could be counted on for gossip, flattery and a sympathetic ear.

Over the next decade or so, they grew closer and he broke through her carefully constructed social image. She entrusted him, unwisely, with the most shameful secrets of her marriage. Their famous friendship ended in a tragic betrayal when Truman Capote published "La Cote Basque, 1965," an excerpt from his unfinished novel, "Answered Prayers." This was an expose on the lives of New York's upper class society, including the Swans and even his dear friend, Babe.

The novel transitions between "present day" when the scandalous essay was published and the times before. It is told from the point of view of both Truman and Barbara and we get a detailed understanding of their shielded personalities. For the famous Barbara Paley, we see a vulnerable side to the powerhouse of a New York socialite, which is what made her so susceptible to Truman's charm.

Meanwhile Truman is depicted as a charming and shrewd man, but also a desperate one. Over the time p of the novel, his psychological well being deteriorates and he grows more insecure of his position in society, afraid of losing what he has, pressurised to live up to his previous successes and haunted by his past. Benjamin portrays Babe as serving her husband with "geishalike" attention. What this novel explores is the relationship between these two people who were seemingly poles apart. What did Capote find so compelling in Babe, who wasn't literary, particularly witty or anything to him but a symbol of his lavish, thrilling new life? It is suggested that he craved the trappings of great wealth after his Southern Gothic childhood cast off by a rejecting mother.

Traveling first class with the Paley's to azure beaches, lunching with Babe and her fellow socialite "swans," he felt sheltered from the harsh reality of real life which he experience with. Capote recognized himself in Babe: a self-invented persona who so lonely underneath. he identifies with the person beneath her façade, and is genuinely empathic to her plight of being a strong individual, bound by society.

The novel briefly examines the impact of Capote's scandalous expose - he essentially committed social suicide by dropping such a bomb on high society, and went on to be ostracized by his "swans". They continued to live in fame and live their lives as though their dirty laundry had not been aired. "The Swans of Fifth Avenue" ends where it begins, during a lunch at La Cote Basque.

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