So good! Reads like fiction - the story of Truman Capote and Ann Woodward. I did not know the story of Woodward and although came into reading this knowing a bit about Capote, I soon learned that I had only scratched the surface. Thoroughly-researched and written in a way that captivated me, this was well-paced and kept me turning pages all afternoon. Pick this one up. Go in cold so you’re surprised at the turn of events. Thanks to Atria Books for the advanced copy! Loved it.

An interesting book on two people who I have read many stories about.
Their humble beginnings were new to me and gave me a different insight on them.
I recommend this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Great dual storyline in this very interesting book! First, there is the story of Ann Woodward who grew up poor in Kansas and was bound and determined to move to New York City and find herself a rich husband. Ann succeeded in marrying William "Billy" Woodward who was heir to a wealthy New York City banking family. Ann never really quite fit in with the other socialites who were born into wealth. One night after partying and retiring for the night, Ann thought she heard a noise, looked out into the dark hallway and fired a shotgun killing her husband, Billy. Ann was acquitted but people were divided as to her guilt and she was shunned even more and sent off to Europe by her mother-in-law who despised her.

The second storyline is about the life of author Truman Capote who was born in New Orleans, grew up poor and went to New York City in search of fame. He authored the book "In Cold Blood" which made him famous and he was very popular with the "in crowd" of New York City. He befriended a lot of the socialites who confided all their scandalous secrets to him, but he was known to be a gossipy tattle-tale and often divulged everyone's secrets. He referred to these socialites as his "swans." Truman went on to publish articles where these socialites identities were thinly-veiled and their secrets published which in turn led to Truman being shunned by his "swans" ultimately leading to his downward spiral.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this fascinating books that kept me mesmerized from start to finish.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In Deliberate Cruelty, by Roseanne Montillo, the reader enjoys two stories, both of which have been written extensively in the past. The first is about socialite Ann Woodward who shot her husband in the dark, thinking (or not) that he was an intruder in their home. The story of her rise from a poor country bumpkin childhood to living in multiple dwellings with a wealthy husband and thoroughbred horses. We are talking about a surge from showgirl to doyenne of society. But be careful what you wish for…all that glitters is not gold. Then, you have the story of Truman Capote. He came from the same background and made it into the inner circle of high society, including Mrs. Woodward, and wrote In Cold Blood which became a legendary book and put him in the top 1% of the social hierarchy. But Truman needs to come up with another novel, so he writes about his swans, like Jacquie Kennedy-type ladies, including Mrs. Montgomery and a host of other high society mavens. When a magazine publishes ONE chapter of Truman’s upcoming novel, the swans lose their collective
sh!t and turn on Truman Capote so fast he doesn’t see it coming. Writing the inner secrets of high society gets you banished and quickly. I have read various versions of this story and liked them all, but I felt this book was accurate and well-written. Truman finds out that being cruel will cost you, friends. The song says, “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Truman should have quit while he was ahead. #highsociety #socialite #newyork #wealthy #fortunes #scandal #murder #secrets @atriabooks @netgalley @roseannemontillo #deliberatecruelty #trumancapote #netgalley
Publication date: November 1, 2022.
💰

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

#bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #reader #booklove #bookreader

Very well researched, thought out and written book.

Ann Woodward live a very hard life and scratched her way to everything she had always wanted. A terrible accident ended all she had achieved.

Truman Capote started life in much the same ways as Ann. He wrote his way into the upper classes and also lost it all the same way.

I received a review copy from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In reality this is probably a 3.5 star book for me. Although an interesting tale that was well researched and well written. What dropped this down for me was that I could tell the author had a hard time finishing up the narrative. That was my only draw back on this. In truth it was an interesting story and gave me a delightful insight into Truman Capote and Ann Woodward.

Deliberate Cruelty
Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century
by Roseanne Montillo
Pub Date 01 Nov 2022
Atria Books
True Crime



I am reviewing a copy of Deliberate Cruelty through Atria Books and Netgalley:


Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, changing her life 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.




Truman Capote acclaimed for his best selling 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. Truman 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.


I am reviewing a copy of Deliberate Cruelty five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Deliberate Cruelty is the fascinating yet tragic story of Ann Woodward and Truman Capote.

Although I was familiar with both stories I did not realize the connection between the two and how it effected both their lives.

The author does a fantastic job of hooking you into both their stories and the sadness of them.

After the shooting be it accidental or murder and an article that Capote had written is published the consequences are far reaching.

Ann commits suicide and Truman is ostracized by all his friends.

The research was extremely well done and has me going down a rabbit hole on Truman Capote.

Deliberate Cruelty is a book that I will think of often.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a compelling read.

"This glittering, "wild romp of a story, boldly and beautifully told" (Neal Thompson, author of The First Kennedys) explores the darkly intertwined fates of infamous socialite Ann Woodward and literary icon Truman Capote, 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."

Thanks to Ryan Murphy we must all become obsessed with Truman Capote right now. Although I already was...

I thought I was familiar with Truman Capote; I've read his books and watched the movies. However, Roseanne Montillo puts Capote in a different light with her well-researched book. The author draws a distinct line between socialite Ann Woodward and Capote and the ever-shifting rule of high society. Woodward killed her husband, and Capote killed his career by writing about her. But it's not that simple, as Montillo points out. Both came from similar backgrounds, struggled to fit in with New York society and then were discarded. Woodward committed suicide after Capote used her as a barely disguised character in a story that spilled all the secrets of social "swans" who found Capote entertaining. He heard it all from his close circle of "friends," who turned on him in a heartbeat. The little man who wrote "In Cold Blood," who befriended the rich and wicked, turned out to be just another sad story.

This is such an engrossing story with two main characters (Truman Capote and Ann Woodward) who were both raised without means in less than desirable family circumstances. Both made their way to New York City and advanced their societal status, him through his writing and uniquely charming persona and she by marriage to one of New York’s wealthiest bachelors.

Ann Woodward finds herself an outcast from New York’s upper crust after mistaking her husband for an intruder and killing him. Her mother in law had disapproved of her from the beginning and was more than happy to take her children away and banish her to Europe. Truman Capote decides to make Ann and the rest of his socialite friends the subject of one of his books which leads to his downfall from the same jet setting Uber wealthy group.

I was familiar with Truman Capote‘s life story but this was a great deep dive into his life and his collection of socialite friends which he called his “Swans”. I found this book very informative and enjoyable but felt that there was a good bit of repetition and sometimes the transitions between stories was a little bit bumpy.

4 stars and highly recommended! Many thanks to Netgally and Atria for this ARC.

I have an unhealthy fascination with Truman Capote. I have read several things about him and his "Swans", but this added lots of information. About Ann Woodward, I knew she had killed her husband and eventually committed suicide, and I knew Capote had ostracized all his friends with his Esquire article, but I didn't realize the two events were connected.

It is not a long book, but all the pertinent info is there and the comparisons made between Ann and Truman are fully supported. It's a compelling story. I kept reading and reading until suddenly I was at the acknowledgements

While I enjoyed this book I thought it was too long and slow. I had heard of Truman Capote and his In Cold Blood before but did not know a thing about him. This book did give me a better understanding of him and I learned about Ann Woodward. Both Ann and Truman had similar childhoods and they both wanted to be accepted into high society. It was good to see how their lives interconnected through high society, otherwise one would think how does this story have two people who are completely different, connect.

No one loved dish or gossip more than Truman Capote.
In 1955, banking heir Billy Woodward was shot and killed by his wife Ann, thinking he was a prowler. Known for his love of high society women (his swans), Truman became obsessed with the scandal of this showgirl turned socialite turned murderess.
Looking for material for his next book, Truman followed every detail of this case. He identified with Ann who came from meager beginnings and rose above it all to wealth and prominence. This story of Ann and New York’s high society would be his masterpiece.
When Truman wrote an article for Esquire magazine revealing stories about the murder and the gossip shared with him by his ‘swans’, confidences were broken and his swans disappeared from his life. Ann would commit suicide in 1975 when learning of Truman’s intentions and his favor would begin to slip away.
A true crime, wonderfully executed story that captivated from cover to cover.
Thanks to NetGalley, Roseanne Montillo and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved this book! I read it in one day, as I just couldn't put it down. I loved how the story told both the complete stories of Ann and Truman, before and after their encounters. The research and details is amazing, it reads like a novel, while being nonfiction. One of the best books I've read in a long time.

Ann Woodward and Truman Capote had a lot in common from their need to be liked in the ward to be with who they considered the important people. Even though EN “accidentally“ murdered her husband it was rude an accident and so she never went to court but it gave more reason for those who already judged her and made her feel like an outsider to do it even more. Truman Capote on the other hand made friends with celebrities what would cause his own wedge by entertaining the gossip papers and in my opinion was a real self sabotage her. Having said that he was still very talented and this book was so very interesting. Despite what people say they love a human tragedy and essentially that’s what Truman Capote in and Woodward were in by evidence of this book Still Are. This is one of the most comprehensive books or not only a childhood and grown-up life but what she did prior to the shooting another and I had never heard anything about Truman Capote‘s childhood until I read this book. I truly enjoy historical True Crime and I don’t know if that’s exactly the genre does falls under because it mainly has aspects of biographies but either way this is a book I highly recommend and found so interesting. I received this book from NetGalleyShelf the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Truth is stranger than fiction is the phrase I would use to describe Deliberate Cruelty by Roseanne Montillo. Having read fictionalized versions of the Woodward matter and Capote’s swans, I truly enjoyed reading the truth about all the individuals who were involved in these situations. While Ann Woodward was never tried for murder and Bill’s death was ruled an accident, she certainly paid the price by being ostracized by the same people she tried to impress and desired to be a part of. Truman Capote was also shunned for his sharing of everyone’s secrets in print. It was interesting to me how alike Ann and Truman were in their upbringings and their desires to achieve and an almost pathological need to belong and to be accepted. I usually do not read nonfiction, but I found this book, (which reads like fiction) to be informative, enjoyable and a deep dive into what makes us what we are. Very enjoyable book which I would recommend to my friends.

Very interesting. From a bygone era, when women had to marry up or stay poor. The woman at hand did use her beauty and who knows what else to marry up, Then something happened and Hubby died of a gunshot wound, middle of the night, And Ann Woodward was the personna non grata. Truman Capote was entrlled by this woman and, like her, he came from poverty. The writing is excellent, I recommend this book.

DELIBERATE CRUELTY: TRUMAN CAPOTE, THE MILLIONAIRE'S WIFE, AND THE MURDER OF THE CENTURY
BY: ROSEANNE MONTILLO

Roseanne Montillo who teaches Creative Writing both at Emerson and Tufts, both about an hour away, from where I live, has clearly done her research when crafting this epic tale. She has even included a Bibliography at the end. How she managed to include so much about not just Truman Capote, but his "Swans," as he called his lady friends juxtaposed with Ann Woodward, wife of William Woodward, Jr. and his murder by Ann has amazed me. It was a very interesting reading experience. How this Author managed to compile all that she did, truly amazes me. There is a lot of information compacted into not a large amount of pages, is a stunning achievement in and of itself.

Here you will read and learn about Ann Woodward's lineage as well as her husband's and she also traces Truman Capote's lineage. The name that we all know --the infamous Author who is Truman Capote is not the name he was given at birth. The dates of all incidents included that are so richly detailed in this true literary history are staggering.

At the end of October in 1955, during the night-early morning, Ann Woodward shot and killed her millionaire husband with a shotgun in their home. She said that she heard a noise and her dog growling and she aimed the shotgun which hit her husband William Woodward, Jr., who was at the end of the hall. The police who investigated heard that two lights were on by someone outside who was a witness, but didn't actually see the shooting. Ann said that there weren't any lights on. So there is certainly room for ambiguity. William Woodward, Jr. and Ann Woodward had been sleeping in separate bedrooms for months. He had recently changed his will as she was a socialite showgirl of coming from no money. That day he went to Kansas where Ann was from, and found out that her father was very much alive and that Ann had lied to him saying that her father died. Ann's Mother-in-law Elsie Woodward didn't like Ann and thought that her son had married beneath him, bribed Ann to give custody of their two sons over to her and Ann did in order to avoid a trial. She was cast out of the life of privilege that she was used to living.

Truman Capote whose mother remarried Joe Capote, who was Truman's stepfather, is how he changed his name. This book goes into great detail about all six of the parents of Truman Capote, William Woodward, Jr and Ann Woodward. For the sake of brevity of this being a review, which for purposes of keeping it brief, I would urge you to read the book because it is fascinating and all true. Truman Capote did not like Ann and she didn't like him, but the pen is sharper than any weapon as evidenced by Truman Capote's "Swans," whom he betrayed them all when Esquire published a chapter from the book he hailed as his masterpiece. This mysterious book was never discovered that he kept saying that he had written. Once hailed as one of America's greatest writers, after he published, "Breakfast at Tiffany's," which was optioned for film starring Audrey Hepburn in, 1961 after his book was published in, 1958. He published, "In Cold Blood," which he called his "nonfiction novel" in, 1966. I have a nice copy of that book and it is very well written as those two works gave Truman Capote his literary acclaim and made him famous.

Both Truman Capote and Ann Woodward were self destructive in their actions. Ann took her own life when she learned that Truman Capote was going to publish a chapter including how she killed her husband, along with publishing all of his women friends secrets, who were known as "Swans," private lives and their families private lives that they told Truman in confidence, he decided to publish. He went downhill after his women friends turned their backs on him and never spoke to him again. Most all of them, the (Swans), felt that he betrayed them except for Jackie Kennedy's sister Lee. His manuscript was never found of the book that he kept talking about rivaling Marcel Proust. I am grateful to have read an early ARC of "Deliberate Cruelty'. I LOVED IT!

Publication Date: November 1, 2022

Thank you to Net Galley, Roseanne Montillo and Atria for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#DeliberateCruelty #RoseanneMontillo #Atria #NetGalley

Besides having seen the movie Capote and having read ‘In Cold Blood’ and ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ I don’t have any other knowledge about Truman Capote and no prior knowledge of Ann Woodward. Roseanne Montillo’s new book Deliberate Cruelty is compelling and engaging tying Capote and Woodward together in an incredible true life story. Montillo’s writing style and subject matter flow so easily that I was already a quarter of the way done the book before I realized it. She paints a detailed picture of Capote and Woodward’s families and friends making all the players seem familial. Montillo doesn’t insert unnecessary fluff and keeps you on track so you’re never having to guess who the players are or needing a refresh. The book describes the parallels between Capote’s and Ann Woodward’s upbringings, to the desire to be part of society, achieving a place within that society that’s never really permanent, and then their eventual ruin via their own hands. I found Ann Woodward’s story captivating and sad. If you’ve never read ‘In Cold Blood’ Montillo does an excellent job of summarizing the crime as well as Capote’s time researching and writing the book. The after effects of Billy Woodward’s death and Capote’s ‘La Côte Basque, 1965’ sent ripple effects through their families and friends years after each occurred. Montillo’s two subjects became ostracized from the NY society they desperately craved eventually ending in their respective deaths. For fans of true crime and Real Housewives this book is for you. A great mix of murder and socialite drama.

Thank you to Atria Books for this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.