"The Swans of Fifth Avenue" by Melanie Benjamin

This novel is about the rich and the famous living in New York in the 1950s and 60s. At the center of it is the unlikely friendship between the flamboyant and strikingly talented Truman Capote and the glamorous socialite and trend-setter Babe Paley. I knew very little about the book going into it and when I started reading it I had never even heard of Babe Paley and the circles she was part of. She was from the same era and social class that produced Jackie Kennedy. These people had summer mansions on Long Island, winter villas in Jamaica and yachts on the Mediterranean. Babe was married to the founder of CBS Bill Paley and was often described by Vogue and Vanity Fair as the best-dressed and having the most impeccable style. However, behind each facade, be it literary talent or beauty and money, we are all the same: lonely, insecure and starved for love and attention. Babe and Truman are no exception. In fact, if anything, fame and success make one feel even more isolated and vulnerable. Truman and Babe's story is one of love, hope, pain and betrayal.

The book is beautifully written. It transports the reader to the place where beautiful women shop at Tiffany's and dress up for lunch. If you like Downton Abbey, you might enjoy this book also. It is not quite as "soapie" as Downton Abbey but it is filled with glamorous people with unattainable lifestyles. Truman was of course an outsider in this crowd of "swans" as he called them. But he was desperate to be included, to be close to them, to be one of them, to the point that he thought he could do no wrong. Until one day he did - by spilling all of their secrets in a short story...

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It inspired me to read some of Capote's work. I did see the movie adaption of Breakfast at Tiffany's but will now also plan to read the book. This was a great read. 5 out of 5 stars.

I received an advanced reading copy from NetGalley. The book is coming out on January 26, 2016.