Pat D. (pat0814) reviewed on 10/12/2015 + 379 more book reviews

Melanie Benjamin has written another fascinating fictionalized account of real-life people. This time her focus is on the socialites of Manhattan who set the standards for fashion in the 1950s. The most well known of these women was Babe Paley, an icon of style and beauty. When Truman Capote enters her life, she and her equally fashionable friends became known to him as his "swans."

As their lives intertwine, these women entrust him with their secrets and confidences. Babe is especially vulnerable and convinced that they are true soul mates. Truman is seen as a shallow, manipulative, insecure man whose only loyalty is to his own ego when he betrays the swans, especially Babe, in a despicable, self-serving act that results in his ostracism from their society. Their public images define them, and his betrayal of them is very painful on many levels.

Melanie Benjamin writes the kind of fiction that results in her readers researching all the real-life characters in her books to learn more about them. She is an exceptionally good writer with the skills necessary to blend fiction and fact into an absorbing read. I am grateful to Librarything to read this book as an ARC.

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