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

Written by Roseanne Montillo

Narrated by Mia Barron

This glittering, “wild romp of a story, boldly and beautifully told” (Neal Thompson, author of The First Kennedys) explores the intertwined fates of literary icon Truman Capote and infamous socialite Ann Woodward—featured in the hit TV series Feud: Truman Capote vs. The Swans—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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Nov 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781797147970

Roseanne Montillo

Roseanne Montillo holds an MFA from Emerson College in Massachusetts, where she teaches as a professor of literature. She is the author of The Lady and Her Monsters.

Reviews for Deliberate Cruelty

[Celeste DeLuna Art · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Insightful look into Capote’s and Woodward’s lives, connections, and deaths

[Christina Harrell · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I thought it was ok I wish she would of wrote more about Ann Woodward

[Ashley Evensen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed the revelations of Capote's downfall intertwined with the subject of his story.

[jack fisher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The depth of shallowness amongst the vapid “social elites” made for a tawdry tale told by a writer with the talent to capture it in all its shameful detail.

[robin · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Story was good enough but unless you’re into long winded, overly dissected backgrounds of EVERY single character, good luck getting through this novel.. So exasperating as the narrator continually delves into ENTIRE history of each person who’s life stories don’t have a thing to do w/ the murder story.. ugh

[AndreaBregman · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found the book fascinating for awhile but it started to get tedious after awhile. The author goes into so much historical detail on the characters I started zoning out after awhile. My guess is that the author had a hard time giving up any of her research. I still recommend the book, the parallels in the character’s lives is fascinating.

[KatyM · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fascinating and very well written. Excellent narration as well. Highly recommended, especially if you are interested in New York society during the 50s, '60s, and 70s.