Deliberate Cruelty: Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century

If you're as fascinated by the "Woodward Saga" and its larger implications as I've always been, you'll like this latest addition to the collection. Nit-picking aside (alright already, Sarah C's a granddaughter, not a daughter, something that affects neither Ann nor Truman's tragic trajectory), this particular re-hash is reminiscent of Thorton Wilder's "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" with its star-crossed protagonists destined to meet in fate's whirlpool. It's happened many times before, no doubt -but asking "why, after all those years?" is, like quibbling over minor points, beside the point. Things are never "put to bed" until everyone's dead -and not even then. I first fell under this story's hypnotic sway (and it's got it all!) after reading Dominick Dunne's "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles" (and thrilling to the TV miniseries) decades ago and I've since come to see how it's affected American pop culture ever since it happened. Ann Woodward weathered any number of storms at the time, being confronted with herself everywhere, in everything from "Confidential"-style scandal rags to thinly-veiled films like Diana Dors' "The Unholy Wife" (original title "The Lady And The Prowler") and Arlene Dahl's "Wicked As They Come" -so why (because it's human nature to ask) did it take so long for everything to come full circle? Like Truman Capote, the French author Gustave Flaubert got his inspiration for "Madame Bovary" after reading a newspaper article detailing the sordid "domino effect" tragedy of one Delphine Delamare. Many years after Flaubert's book was published, the real-life "Rudolphe", a "veritable Cain, emigrated to America, then came back and killed himself on a Parisian boulevard, possibly from remorse. This cannot have been part of Flaubert's intention." Nor Capote's, but turning trash into art can come at a price for those involved, even decades after the fact. It's deja vu all over again no matter how long the passage of time. Ms. Montillo's account of the time leading up to Ann Woodward's fatal overdose is fairly sympathetic, all things considered, but Truman Capote's "Answered Prayers" does leave an unanswered question that's certainly in the realm of the possible: Unlike attempts, actual suicides are rarely spur-of-the-moment and Ann had most likely been contemplating her exit for quite some time but, that said, could she, after learning an excerpt of Capote's roman-a-clef was soon to be published in "Esquire" magazine, have decided to take him to the grave with her, metaphorically speaking -a revenge she'd never live to see? "Vengeance from beyond" is fairly common, in fact. For instance, before actress Lupe Velez killed herself and their unborn child, she left a suicide note laying the blame at her lover's feet and, like Gene Tierney's end in "Leave Her To Heaven", if Ann Woodward had already killed once... This book is highly recommended for those who, like me, were (and still are) smitten by it all and can't seem to get enough, "nit-pickers' and "purists" be damned. A "breezy" read, too, and yes, a "page-turner", to boot -when's the next one coming out?

This narrative in this book, although nonfiction, runs along the same lines as Dominick Dunne’s novel, the two Mrs. Grenvilles. In both, the murder is believably portrayed as a premeditated act by a troubled woman, possibly to prevent a ruinous divorce. But there is a third book on this case, available only in mass market paperback, which is more thoroughly reported and gives a more nuanced look into the circumstances and characters involved. The more thorough reporting done there makes the portrait of the grasping social climber pictured here seem somewhat forced. Both Dunne’s book and this one offer her as a clear villain and virtually ignore the equally shallow character of the playboy husband. I get it - the story becomes a digestible morality play that lets us feel superior to those rich people, and supplies a satisfying conclusion. For those who want to get more of a flavor of the complex reality of these lives, I recommend instead “This Crazy Thing Called Love” - if you can find it at a reasonable price.

I didn't know Truman Capote's history, his life in high society and his death came as new and surprising info. Very well written and organized.

Not really necessary for a Capote fan; it's all been covered before. Adequately interesting if not. The Woodward/Crowell-in-Kansas reporting is disappointingly thin, surely not boots on the ground stuff. Writing itself is just okay. Good enough, overall, as a time-passer, I guess. Moved up a notch for subject's interest; I'm a Kansan. Really it's 2.5 material.

Having read other books regarding the subject, it pretty much tells the same tale. Capote's obsession of Ann Woodward and his betrayal of the secrets his Swans told him was the cause of his downward spiral. There is one thing I came across that bothers me. There is a line in the book regarding Sarah Churchill whom the authors wrote was the daughter of Consuelo Vanderbilt when she was married to the Duke of Marlborough. That is not true. Consuelo Vanderbilt only have two children...both sons. She never had a daughter. However, she did have a granddaughter by the name of Sarah from her oldest son who went on to inherit the dukedom. This was something to very easy to check and should have been.

Truman Capote, the man, the writer, the legend. The book that threw Truman Capote to fame was “In Cold Blood.” Nobody, can denied the tremendous investment in terms of investigation, immersion in the murderers psyche, time, focus and no to mention immense talent that took for Capote the completion of that book. He immersed himself in that reality and never could come out of it. He knew who Ann Woodward was, he couldn’t prove it, nobody could because of her social status and it could be probably a reason for despising here even more. The common criminals were judged and hung. She was not. His resentment to high society was always there since his mother was shunned by it. It wasn’t deliberate cruelty. It was revenge. Except as it is stated in the book, when he shot the society he wanted to destroy, he turned the gun on himself. Again, it’s a good book that presents the uncanny similarities between to people that collided despite of the fact that they both were living in alternate realities.

Good reading.

Capote was basically a bad guy who drive many people to distraction none more so than the perceived murderer Ann Woodward that he drove to her death. In retrospect he was a nasty individual

Great read, I now know a lot about Trueman Capote

Contains spoilers... I fell into this book ... currently fascinated by American society and the way it's reflected by writers. I've read a fair bit of Capote , including In Cold Blood which I taught at A Level. During my reading of Deliberate Cruelty I often stopped to search online about characters and incidents that sparked my interest, including watching interviews with Capote . I'd never read the Esquire article La Cote Basque but found that online too . I'm not sure which I think Is the grubbier of the two ; Capote himself or the society he exposes. Indeed, in writing La Cote Basque, Capote exposes himself as a bitchy queen, delighting in the betrayal of the women he claimed to like, if not love. The piece itself Is tawdry and spiteful , exposing him as little more than a cheap hack. The timing of its publication , when BP was on her death bed ( a woman he claimed to 'love' ) was particularly chilling and the cheap swipe at AW ( resulting in her suicide) was grim. Deliberate Cruelty is a fascinating read , well written and informative . I will definitely read more by this author. My only gripe was that I found the first few chapters slow going . I understand the need for the background , in this case it's essential in comparing the motivations of Capote and Woodward and their subsequent life choices and aspirations , but I struggled to maintain my focus ; hence the 4 stars ( probably 4.5* to be fair.

While I was anticipating reading this book, doing so on both the Kindle and Kindle App for Android proved too much of a challenge. There are too many times where there is a defect. Whether reading one of the person's name with a double l such as "Billy" displays as "Bil y" while a word with double f, such as "effort" is displayed s "e ort". This flaw should have been repaired. It has to be easier to correct an electronic version over a printed book. Come on Amazon/Kindle, you can do better !

This is a fantastic read. Very well written. I could not put it down.

Very good read