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Deliberate Cruelty
Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century
Table of Contents
About The Book
This glittering, “wild romp of a story, boldly and beautifully told” (Neal Thompson, author of The First Kennedys) explores the intertwined fates of literary icon Truman Capote and infamous socialite Ann Woodward—featured in the hit TV series Feud: Truman Capote vs. The Swans—sweeping us to the upper echelons of Manhattan’s high society, where falls from grace are all the more shocking.
When Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, her life changed forever. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote.
Acclaimed for his bestselling nonfiction book In Cold Blood, Capote was looking for new material and followed the scandal from beginning to end. Like Ann, he too had ascended from nobody to toast of the town, but he always felt like an outsider, even among the exclusive coterie of high society women who adored him. He decided the story of Ann’s turbulent marriage would be the basis of his masterpiece—a novel about the dysfunction and sordid secrets revealed to him by his high society “swans”—never thinking that it would eventually lead to Ann’s suicide and his own scandalous downfall.
“A 20th-century morality tale of enduring fascination” (Laura Thompson, author of The Heiresses), Deliberate Cruelty is a haunting cross between true crime and literary history that is perfect for fans of Furious Hours, Empty Mansions, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
When Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, her life changed forever. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote.
Acclaimed for his bestselling nonfiction book In Cold Blood, Capote was looking for new material and followed the scandal from beginning to end. Like Ann, he too had ascended from nobody to toast of the town, but he always felt like an outsider, even among the exclusive coterie of high society women who adored him. He decided the story of Ann’s turbulent marriage would be the basis of his masterpiece—a novel about the dysfunction and sordid secrets revealed to him by his high society “swans”—never thinking that it would eventually lead to Ann’s suicide and his own scandalous downfall.
“A 20th-century morality tale of enduring fascination” (Laura Thompson, author of The Heiresses), Deliberate Cruelty is a haunting cross between true crime and literary history that is perfect for fans of Furious Hours, Empty Mansions, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
Why We Love It
“Murder, betrayal, secrets, and intertwined literary and social scandals set among the elite of literary and cafe society, this is true crime with a murderess wearing a designer evening gown and dripping in jewels.”
—Trish T., VP, Executive Editor, on Deliberate Cruelty
Product Details
- Publisher: Atria Books (November 1, 2022)
- Length: 320 pages
- ISBN13: 9781982153755
Raves and Reviews
"[A] sharp sliver of true crime...a vertiginous spiral of social death." --The New York Times
"It goes without saying that Deliberate Cruelty is awash in salacious material, but Montillo handles it with narrative skill — and deliberate fairness." --The Washington Post
"Deliberate Cruelty captures a multi-branched narrative of true crime and gossip and scandal, a literary history, noir mystery, and tragic denouement." --Daily Beast
"Deliberate Cruelty manages to be a hard-hitting true crime story and an interesting piece of cultural history, bringing out new facets of some well-known personalities to create a shocking story." --CrimeReads Most Anticipated Books of the Fall
“Montillo’s deeply researched exposé of the untimely downfall of glittering icons haunted by fundamental insecurities and entrenched demons is a dishy true-crime, literary critique mash-up.” --Booklist
"This engaging, well-researched book will appeal to true-crime aficionados, Capote fans, and anyone interested in a darkly intriguing story well told. A compelling mix of true crime and literary biography." --Kirkus Reviews
"The tragic collision of two lives — Truman Capote and socialite-murderess Ann Woodward — makes for riveting reading in Roseanne Montillo's memorable account of two social-climbing strivers and the lives they touched." —Meryl Gordon, author of Bunny Mellon and Mrs. Astor Regrets
"When the life of Ann Woodward, self-made socialite from Kansas, collided with that of Truman Capote, genius jester at the court of the beautiful people, the result was a twentieth century morality tale of enduring fascination, rooted in a particular kind of American dream - the one that seeks entry into the sleek, exigent world of Manhattan's Upper East Side. Roseanne Montillo tells the story supremely well, with a cool relentlessness reminiscent of Zola." —Laura Thompson, author of The Heiresses
"Brash and beautiful, Ann Woodward’s escape from a hardscrabble past and her ambitious rise from model and showgirl to the upper tiers of New York’s high society is a both a rags to riches story and a cautionary tale -- just the kind of story literary provocateur Truman Capote adored. In crafting the side-by-side tales of two arriviste strivers born of humble roots, Roseanne Montillo has given us a thrilling, tragic, Gatsby-esque saga. A wild romp of a story, boldly and beautifully told." —Neal Thompson, author of The First Kennedys and A Curious Man
"[A] sharp sliver of true crime...a vertiginous spiral of social death." --The New York Times
"It goes without saying that Deliberate Cruelty is awash in salacious material, but Montillo handles it with narrative skill — and deliberate fairness." --The Washington Post
"Deliberate Cruelty captures a multi-branched narrative of true crime and gossip and scandal, a literary history, noir mystery, and tragic denouement." --Daily Beast
"Deliberate Cruelty manages to be a hard-hitting true crime story and an interesting piece of cultural history, bringing out new facets of some well-known personalities to create a shocking story." --CrimeReads Most Anticipated Books of the Fall
“Montillo’s deeply researched exposé of the untimely downfall of glittering icons haunted by fundamental insecurities and entrenched demons is a dishy true-crime, literary critique mash-up.” --Booklist
"This engaging, well-researched book will appeal to true-crime aficionados, Capote fans, and anyone interested in a darkly intriguing story well told. A compelling mix of true crime and literary biography." --Kirkus Reviews
"The tragic collision of two lives — Truman Capote and socialite-murderess Ann Woodward — makes for riveting reading in Roseanne Montillo's memorable account of two social-climbing strivers and the lives they touched." —Meryl Gordon, author of Bunny Mellon and Mrs. Astor Regrets
"When the life of Ann Woodward, self-made socialite from Kansas, collided with that of Truman Capote, genius jester at the court of the beautiful people, the result was a twentieth century morality tale of enduring fascination, rooted in a particular kind of American dream - the one that seeks entry into the sleek, exigent world of Manhattan's Upper East Side. Roseanne Montillo tells the story supremely well, with a cool relentlessness reminiscent of Zola." —Laura Thompson, author of The Heiresses
"Brash and beautiful, Ann Woodward’s escape from a hardscrabble past and her ambitious rise from model and showgirl to the upper tiers of New York’s high society is a both a rags to riches story and a cautionary tale -- just the kind of story literary provocateur Truman Capote adored. In crafting the side-by-side tales of two arriviste strivers born of humble roots, Roseanne Montillo has given us a thrilling, tragic, Gatsby-esque saga. A wild romp of a story, boldly and beautifully told." —Neal Thompson, author of The First Kennedys and A Curious Man
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