This book is a tale that weaves through the lives of Ann Woodward, Truman Capote, and the social life of New York. This book introduces us to Ann and William Woodward the couple at center stage, and their marriage will start a domino effect that will bring down Truman.

Ann and William had been unhappily married for some time, they had separated and gotten back together, but it wasn't working. On October 30, 1955, the couple went to a party, had come home, and sometime during the night, Ann shot her husband, William, killing him. Truman became fascinated with the story and started writing his next big novel with this story as one of the tales he would tell. He was also adding stories of his swans. The swans were a group of high-society New York women that were beautiful, rich, and influential. This group of women loved Truman and invited them not only into their home, on vacation, and to their parties, but they also told him their innermost secrets.

Yes, you can see that the upper-crust of the 1950s is full of drama, intrigue, murder, and betrayal. I think this book compiled the ugly truth in such a manner that it reads like a fiction novel. I found myself engrossed and did not stop until I finished the book.

On a fall evening in 1955, socialite Ann Woodward shot and killed her husband, Billy, claiming she mistook him for a burglar. Although she was exonerated, author Truman Capote became obsessed with the case, particularly after she called him an unflattering name in a chance encounter. Ann never could move past the rumors that followed her and she eventually killed herself. Sadly, both her sons' lives would end the same way.

The book explores the oddly similar stories of Ann Woodward and Truman Capote, both of whom sought to escape their early lives and gain fame and fortune in New York.

Although this book is non-fiction, it is an easy read. Given the extensive back story provided for Ann Woodward, her suicide seems abrupt. The author explores Capote's other "swans," but glosses over his sad ending as well. #DeliberateCruelty #NetGalley

This book is so juicy and delightful. I have always been fascinated by Truman Capote and his swans. This story gives another viewpoint and chronicles Ann Woodward's life with Truman Capote's. Although sharing similar childhoods and experiences in New York, Truman and Ann didn't really know each other and disliked each other. This story delves into all the hot gossip of the time and I'm here for it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Really, beyond In Cold Blood, I knew very little about Capote. I thoroughly enjoyed Deliberate Cruelty, it delves very deeply into the history of its subjects and showing you the steep price that high society costs.

A really fabulous and intriguing true crime book, not quite like anything else I’ve read lately. Deliberate Cruelty by Roseanne Montillo centers around Ann Woodward, a high society woman who shot her husband back in 1955, using the excuse she thought he was a burglar. Truman Capote was interested in this crazy story and wrote about Ann… not very kindly.

Synopsis:

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.

I appreciate a well-researched story like this one and I do love true crime. I don’t read many true crime stories from the 1950s so this was very interesting for me. I need more historical true crime books!

Out no, go read it!

I have to say this one with its team of horrible characters, sexism (ick), jealousy, and terminally bad writing is in line for my worst book of the year 2022!

Wow .... for me, this book was a rough read, but one I couldn't stop reading. A high society scandal. A famous writer wanting to stay relevant. Choices. Consequences. Downfall.

Brutal. And....all true.

In 1955, a New York socialite shot and killed her husband. Anne Woodward said it was an accident and that she thought her banker husband was an intruder. Truman Capote, famous for his novel In Cold Blood, decided to make the story into a book. He said it would be his next bestseller, of course. Capote's need for attention and fame led him to make some bad decisions. He betrayed the trust of high society friends, publishing a magazine story revealing things he had been told in confidence. Before the magazine article even came out, Anne Woodward killed herself. And, Capote was ruined. He lost his high society contacts, and fell into drug and alcohol addiction. Eventually, his addictions killed him.

Roseanne Montillo does such a great job of telling this story. I loved In the Garden of Good and Evil. But, I have to say, in my opinion, this book surpasses that one. Normally, I'm not phased by much. I can read non-fiction and true crime stories, and not get overwhelmed by the subject matter. But, this book hit me right in the feels. Truman Capote pretty much destroyed himself. One choice (or mistake, if that was the actual truth) destroyed Anne's life. And so many upper crust people with very damaging secrets. Just sad all the way around. Nobody involved came out of this unscathed. Choices have consequences. Secrets never stay secret. And, it's never wise to burn bridges and betray people for your own self interests.

This book had me thinking deep thoughts for days afterwards. What awesome stories could Capote have written, if he hadn't pretty much self-imploded? What would Anne's life have been like if she hadn't made a split second decision in 1955? What was the final fate of all those high society "swans' who fluttered all around Capote and left him in the cold when he betrayed them? Yikes - reality sometimes surpasses any soap opera. Some very wealthy women were floundering around in their own personal shit show, but trying to keep up appearances and hide their dirty secrets. Ick. What a waste -- all the way around. Nobody came out of this happy. Nobody.

Wonderfully written. This is a Hard-hitting and dark story of hatred, jealousy, the price of fame, and consequences. It's a brutal, but compelling, tale. And, it's even darker because it's all true.

I can't wait to read what this author writes next!!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Atria Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

In high school the book that introduced me to true crime was In Cold Blood. It was the book to read. That introduction to Truman Capote was an eyeopener. At the time I had no knowledge of Ann Woodward and her connection to him. All I can say is Wow, what a read. I sat down to read maybe a chapter or two and before I knew it I was so hooked I set other things aside so I could finish it. Yes, I think it's that good.
Both Ann Woodward and Truman Capote were born poor and set their sights on getting into high society. What they got was personal destruction. As Capote admitted, he was nasty. When he used his "swans" and then wrote a thinly veiled story about Ann and the shotgun killing of her husband Billy Woodward when she thought he was a prowler, well that was the end for both of them. Society can be a harsh mistress and, try as they might, neither one could find a place in the rich and glamorous world they so wanted to inhabit.
True crime, on the whole, isn't my preferred genre but I'm glad I requested Deliberate Cruelty. It's a very well written and well researched book, one I will be recommending to my friends who are fans of the genre. They won't be disappointed.
My thanks to the publisher Atria Books and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Deliberate Cruelty follows the lives of Truman Capote and Ann Woodward, exploring the similarities of their rise in society and, ultimately, how their fates intertwined.

I'll say that I was sucked into it right away - I found the prose to be enchanting while remaining respectful to its subjects. This can be a difficult balance in nonfiction (as can be seen in the works of Capote, as discussed throughout the book), so I was excited to see it handled so well!

The time period we're experiencing through this novel - mostly the 1950s - is entirely fascinating to me, so I was excited to take a deep dive. It was something of an introduction to New York society for me, and I found myself constantly Google-ing the names mentioned to learn just a little bit more! I love readjng nonfiction that pushes me to learn more, and Deliberate Cruelty really scratched that itch.

My only real issue came from the pacing. There were times we were so long following Truman Capote that I forgot entirely that a huge part of the book was also meant to be about Ann Woodward. Had there been more about Ann laced in through the latter half of the book, I think it would have felt less completely focused on Capote.

An extremely interesting read, and I'm excited to read more about the era!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Two individuals originally from the South with one common denominator: they were rejected by their mother. They never had contact with one another until they came across each other at a social event, This meeting will result in a compilation of events that will become a factor in her suicide and his downfall as a successful writer. The two: Ann Woodward and Truman Capote. Ann was suspected of killing her husband, William (Billy) Woodward, Jr., in their home after a society dinner to honor the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in 1955. Truman Capote had ingratiated himself into society by befriending a group of society women that he called “his swans” and listened to their intimate details about their lives and their friends, He decides he will write another great novel but before it is finished, he sells the serial story to a magazine, This book is truly worthy of its title. This book will be particularly appealing to those who like the True Crime genre, enjoy reading about the lifestyle of the rich and famous of the 1950s and how the need to be wanted and respected by others can be a disaster, I particularly felt sorry for the Woodward sons. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for an ARC of this book; this is my honest review.

I found this book incredibly difficult to get in to. The characters are flat, the storyline is lacking-a hard no for me.

Roseanne Montillo compares and contrasts the lives of Ann Woodward and Truman Capote; each came from broken small-town families and viewed New York City as their salvation, but for each it ultimately brought tragedy,

The phrase "More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones" is central to both Ann and Truman's lives. Montillo carefully lays out Ann Woodward's dirt-poor life in Kansas and her heroic efforts to move to New York City, improve herself with acting lessons, vocal lessons to strip away her midwestern accent, and to do whatever was needed to land a rich husband. Ann succeeded beyond her dreams, marrying old money Billy Woodward in 1943. But Ann soon realizes she is despised by her mother-in-law and ridiculed by the society women she envies - she will never be enough, and no one will let her forget this.

Truman grew up in a small southern town, unwanted by his parents and raised by his maiden aunts and assorted relatives. Truman's mother Lille Mae viewed New York City as her salvation and soon found a new husband, bringing Truman to live with them when he was 10. Small, determined, profoundly cruel (Truman once said about himself, "I am about as tall as a shotgun, and just as nasty") Truman worked hard for his fame, first known as an exceptional short-story writer, and writing Other Voices, Other Rooms, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories and the classic In Cold Blood, the first true crime non-fictional novel.

And at the pinnacle of his fame, Capote famously releases one chapter of his long-awaited novel Answered Prayers - a gossipy, nasty chapter entitled La Côte Basque 1965. Ann Woodward commits suicide rather than be subjected to yet another round of hatred, and Truman Capote commits social suicide, effectively shunned by the whole of NY society.

Where the book drags a bit is in the telling of Ann's story. Much is left to speculation (it is mentioned numerous times that Ann and Billy Woodward's father may have had an affair and that Billy was bisexual but this is left unexplored) and one never really gains any insight into Ann, beyond the superficial and shallow. Overall, 4 stars for an enjoyable read.

Rosanne Montillo’s well-researched and perfectly titled Deliberate Cruelty: Truman Capote, the Millionaire’s Wife, and the Murder of the Century, outlines how the two things Capote and Woodward seemed to have sought from high society - acceptance and respect - they denied each other.

Did they realize how much they had in common? Was Capote drawn to Woodward, not just for the sensational story of a socialite killing her wealthy husband with a shotgun, but because he hated that she reminded him of his mother, of himself?

Somehow, I was unfamiliar with the story of Billy Woodward’s killing and Truman Capote’s culpable role in Ann Woodward’s suicide. I was intrigued from the opening but then grew weary as it lagged in parts looking back on the early life of the young Ann, Truman and their mothers. Once Montillo got back to the time of Billy Woodward’s death, however, I was riveted.

It was interesting to learn about Capote’s intimate connection to the research for his iconic In Cold Blood and his relationship to the murderers up until the moment they hanged.

Montillo painstakingly shows the coldness with which Capote turned his venom on Woodward and other women in his life, which led to his ultimate undoing. As is often the case with true crime, the ending leaves you questioning why things had to play out the way they did.

I received a free egalley courtesy of Simon and Schuster, through NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.

What a fascinating little tale I never heard. As a Long Islander, it was great to read about something so close to home. I did feel like there were big swatches of things that got repeated over and over for dramatic effect, I could have done without the repetition. Overall, a good read.

Deliberate Cruelty is a well written book. It’s also an enveloping read. I inhaled it in one sitting.
I had never heard of Ann Woodward so I read her story with great interest. I was less enchanted with Truman Capote. I’ve never had much regard for him; in fact he’s a vile, vicious weasel who got what he deserved.
Comparing the two lives was an interesting prospect, but I skim read all the parts about Capote be Sue they didn’t interest me. He was a puffed up very small person.
An interesting book all around.

In 1955, socialite Ann Woodward shot her husband Billy late one night, believing he was a prowler. Or did she? Many believe that Ann deliberately murdered her husband, and that she was a gold digger and social climber who killed him when he discovered secrets about her past. Years later, Truman Capote decided to publish a short story based on the murder, a decision that would lead to Ann’s suicide, and the downfall of Truman’s writing career.

I absolutely loved this book! I read it in one sitting because I could not put it down. This story is incredibly well written, engaging and skillfully told. We learn about Ann, Billy and Truman, and the author really explores the psychology of these people, and of their relationships. I felt like we took such a deep dive into who these individuals were as people, and why these events happened the way they did. This was like a true crime book combined with a well written historical non fiction, with a touch of soapy drama. I highly recommend this book!

Millionaire Billy Woodward was shot in the middle of the night in 1955. His wife, Ann, was accused of his murder. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed her. Truman Capote, fresh off his success of In Cold Blood, decided to write about the scandal; that it would be the basis for 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.
Nothing is more delicious than true crime and high society scandal and this book had it all wrapped up in one!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this e-arc.*

Talk about a gripping book! Only vaguely aware of the Woodward/Capote story previously, I quickly became glued to Deliberately Cruelty and remained riveted until the very end. Though Nonfiction it reads easily like fiction and is about poverty, privilege, passion, power, provocation and possessions. Lifestyles of the rich and famous are often interesting to read about and this certainly holds true here. Seeing and being seen were crucial in the 1940s and 1950s Manhattan.

Evangeline Crowell (then infamously Ann Eden and Ann Woodward) grew up with hardships and had an unusual upbringing but was clever and had a high IQ. She knew what she wanted since she was a young girl and did everything in her power to live a super elite lifestyle. Her marriage to uber wealthy Billy Woodward was not one of love. She shot him one night believing he was a prowler. It was sad to read about her relationships with her mother, children and, of course, her own suicide.

Truman Capote also grew up with similar dreams and achieving his ambitions at any cost. And he got there and was well known in high society. He became a cunning writer and delighted in treading on toes and poking fun at people in his own blatant way. But he pushed it too far when he wrote salaciously about Ann without naming names. But she and others knew.

Woodward and Capote were very much alike, yearning for belonging and the spotlight. They were both successful by their definitions. Interestingly, Ann was not one of Capote's infamous "swans". They publicly despised each other. Capote apparently did not feel remorse for his exposing Ann but rather felt the pain of being shunned socially. Rising to the top was his ultimate goal. He did it but his downfall was swift and hard.

What particularly intrigued me are the histories of each of the people involved, including those of Ann's parents and her unorthodox childhood and rise to stardom.

My sincere thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the privilege of learning more about these fascinating people.

🎁📚 𝓐𝓡𝓒 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀
3/5 🌟

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑭𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒆 by Melanie Benjamin, about Truman Capote’s symbiotic but doomed friendships with some of the most famous socialites in the world, is one of my very favorite books. So I couldn’t resist the opportunity to read this true-crime take on the relationship between Capote’s and the scandalous murder of wealthy Billy Woodward at the hands of his wife, Ann, 1955.

I was disappointed to find most of the book flat and dry, a straight description of both Capote’s and the Woodwards’ upbringings and downfalls. Capote and Ann have much in common, and the author does a beautiful job painting their hardscabble upbringings and fight to make it to the upper echelons of high society. Many pages were devoted to Capotes writings, which is certainly deserving of it, but I was hoping to read more about the relationship between Capote and Ann. The Woodward murder ruined Ann’s life, as she was exiled, shunned and eventually died by suicide, and also inspired Dominic Dunne’s classic, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝑴𝒓𝒔. 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒔 (which is amazing!!).

Though thoroughly researched, I wish there’d been a bit more flow and in the retelling of the incidents; I guess I was hoping this true crime examination would read more like a novel, like Capote’s own 𝑰𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅. Montillo did get the title perfectly right - “deliberate cruelty” seems to describe Capote’s personality to a T.

An intriguing and fabulous topic, but I recommend checking out Benjamin’s or Dunne’s books if you want more entertaining take on the subject.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book!

Pub date is November 1, 2022.

#biblliophile #stephsalwaysreading #deliveratecruelty#bookreviews #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #tbrlist #truecrime#theswansoffifthavenue#thetwomrsgrenvilles#trumancapote#whatshouldireadnext #netgalley#ARC

Having been an avid fan of Truman Capote ever since I read In Cold Blood back in the 1980’s, I have voraciously devoured (sort of obsessively) anything and everything written about him. But Deliberate Cruelty goes well-beyond Truman’s notoriously brutal, demeaning and uncaring personality. This book shows the exact reason all his so-called friends decided he was a piranha. It is also the story of what seems to have led to his decent into alcohol which ultimately caused his death.

It all started with Truman’s hatred of a socialite named Ann Woodward who was married to banker Billy Woodward. In 1955 Ann either accidently or intentionally shot and killed her husband Billy one night thinking he was a prowler in the house. But because of Ann’s position in society, she was never actually charged with a crime and her punishment was to be ostracized to Europe alone without her two children.

Ann’s upbringing was similar to Truman’s in there was no stable relationship with their parents, they were left to be raised by relatives and grew up very poor. Later in life both would reconnect with their mothers and take care of them. Could this have been the impetus for what Truman did and why? No one will really know.

After Capote hit it big with In Cold Blood, the first non-fiction book ever written, he became not only the talk of Manhattan, but was also invited to every party, lunch, dinner or vacation in which the elite had. He became their entertainment, telling stories and making them laugh. Although Ann Woodward was not one of his admirers.

So, when years later Truman decided to write a book about Ann killing her husband, no one understood why. But write he did and not only about Ann, but about all those friends, all women he had met and seduced into telling him their secrets. These women were known as his “swans” and they took him everywhere, on vacation, to lunch, to parties. They gossiped to him about the people at those places and about the intimate details of their own lives, thinking Truman was a true friend.

But Truman had no interest in secrets. He had more interest in celebrity. So, as he was writing the book, he received an offer from a magazine to excerpt some of the juicy details he had been writing about which included Ann and unbeknownst his female friends, them.

Ann Woodward heard about Truman’s magazine story and never read it. She killed herself just before it was published. Truman never up until the day he died understood or blamed himself for her death. He also lost all of his swans as their juicy bits of gossip were printed and although their real names were never used, the veil as to who they really were was not very high. The embarrassment they all lived through would change many of their lives forever, again with Truman never understanding what he actually had done.

Without his flock, Truman became a shell of himself and although he tried to make amends with a few of them, he was dumped from their society never to return. And thus, his spiral began in earnest.

Deliberate Cruelty is the perfect title for this story. In Capote’s life he ruined many a friendship and relationship, but it seems, to keep his fame he would destroy lives, even if it meant someone’s death without an iota of regret.

Thank you #NetGalley #AtriaBooks #DeliberateCruelty #RoseanneMontillo for the advanced copy.