Roseanne Montillo

Deliberate Cruelty: Truman Capote, The Millionaire’s Wife, and the Murder of the Century by Roseanne Montillo is a 2022 Atria Books publication.

I am somewhat well versed on this topic. I’ve read books written by Capote, read books about Capote…. And his Swans. I’ve also read nonfictional material about Ann and Billy Woodward and read Dominick Dunne’s fictionalized account- “The Two Mrs. Grenvilles.”- And remember watching the movie based on that book, as well.

But, I have never read a book that combined Ann’s scandalized life story with Truman Capote's, though their lives did converge- leaving one of them dead by suicide, while the other succumbed to alcoholism, a permanent outcast from the society circles they once owned….

This book is part biography, part true crime, and part historical- but because I’ve read so much material about the two main subjects of this book, I didn’t learn anything new, really. I few nuggets of information stood out that I had not heard before- or just forgot- but other than that, for me it was just a recap or refresher course, if you will.

What made the book interesting to me was how the author made the comparison between Truman and Ann- both outsiders, both coming from backgrounds far removed from the elite New York society they both craved to belong to, though one was initially accepted with open arms, while the other was never liked, and the way their lives in one way or another spiraled downward and they both found themselves on the outside looking in. Ann killed her husband- by accident or murder- I’ll let you decide that- and Truman, for all intents and purposes, killed Ann with his poison pen.

Overall, I thought the author made her case- Ann and Truman were alike in many ways and each were, in some way responsible for the other’s demise- an angle I had not previously considered. This book, though, would probably be best for those without much knowledge of Ann, or Truman- or his Swans.

As to why Truman behaved the way he did… I have no answer. It felt like self-sabotage in a way- but again, that's for you to decide...

3 stars… (mais)

Ann Woodward was a glamorous socialite with an unhappy marriage and things only got more complicated when she shot her husband in the middle of the night, thinking he was a burglar. While she was never found guilty of murder, society shunned her and Ann struggled to rebuild her life over the next two decades. But when Truman Capote included her among the high society figures (his swans) featured in his uncompleted novel Answered Prayers, Ann couldn't bare the rehashing of her past and she took her own life. The drama of this book feels like a novel, but the tale of Capote and his swans is real enough. I enjoyed this book, complete with high society scandals, especially as it highlighted portions of the story I hadn't encountered previously.… (mais)