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"Deliberate Cruelty: The Truman Capote Story"

 Somewhere around the 1950s, a young woman fought her way out of obscurity; she changed her name, her style, and her manner of speaking; she studied Joan Crawford; she studied Joan Crawford's movies. She married a wealthy, closeted man, and she took charge of a mansion in Long Island.


The woman--Ann Woodward--didn't really fit in. Her outfits were too revealing, and she didn't have an acceptable past to talk about; she lied about her father (she said he was dead when he wasn't). Ann's husband grew bored with her, and he threatened a divorce; he could point to Ann's lies as a reason for ending the union. And Ann took out a shotgun and murdered Mr. Woodward. She claimed she had thought he was a prowler, but the claim seemed sketchy. After all, Mr. Woodward was emerging from the shower, and he wasn't wearing any clothing, when his wife slaughtered him.

This material seemed riveting to Truman Capote, who knew what it was like to be an outsider. Capote invented his own eccentric persona so that he had some control over his social appearances; when people laughed at him, he could at least feel that he was "in on the joke." Capote borrowed anything that he needed; if a fact was inconvenient, he just altered it for "In Cold Blood"; since he disliked his name, he called himself "Capote," though this was not the name given to him by his father and mother.

Ann Woodward committed a murder, and Capote committed a series of "pseudo-murders"; Capote used his pen to assassinate the characters of various Long Island celebrities, including Ann Woodward and various "swans" from the Black and White Ball. Both Ann Woodward and Capote were ostracized because of their intemperate behavior.

I knew only a small portion of this story before I picked up "Deliberate Cruelty," so I was fascinated all the way through. The argument in the book seems to be that Ann Woodward and Capote both felt they were "above the rules"; both characters had craftiness and ambition, until they crossed over one too many lines. Ann Woodward eventually killed herself; Capote became an addict and an embarrassment, and people stopped recognizing him, even in close quarters. 

The book "Deliberate Cruelty" is one writer's smart invention; it's a brilliant choice to train your focus on two odd ducks, and to follow every scandal to its conclusion. I love crime and quirky characters, and this book had both. I recommend it.
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