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The Ultimate Betrayal: 6 Secrets That Sparked The Capote Versus The Swans Feud And Ended A Literary Genius

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The literary world and high society were rocked once again in early 2024 with the premiere of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series, *Feud: Capote vs. The Swans*, bringing a decades-old, devastating scandal back into the public eye. This is not just a story of a writer and his muses; it is a profound exploration of betrayal, class, and the painful cost of exposing the most intimate secrets of the world’s most glamorous women, a drama that remains as compelling and tragic today as it was nearly 50 years ago. The central conflict revolves around the legendary author, Truman Capote, and his inner circle of New York socialites, whom he affectionately dubbed his "Swans." Their gilded friendship shattered in 1975 when *Esquire* magazine published an excerpt from his unfinished novel, *Answered Prayers*, titled "La Côte Basque, 1965." The chapter was a thinly veiled, savage exposé of the Swans' deepest and darkest secrets—from infidelity and financial misdeeds to murder cover-ups—leading to Capote's immediate and permanent exile from the elite world he so desperately craved.

The Swans: A Complete Profile of Truman Capote’s Elite Inner Circle

Truman Capote’s "Swans" were the epitome of mid-century American and European glamour. They were not merely rich; they were tastemakers, style icons, and the gatekeepers of the highest social circles. Capote, the diminutive, flamboyant writer, was their confidant, their jester, and their chronicler. His ultimate betrayal was that he turned their whispered confessions into published gossip, effectively destroying their trust and his own reputation. Here is a look at the six primary women who were the focus of the *Feud* miniseries and the original scandal:
  • Barbara "Babe" Paley (Portrayed by Naomi Watts): Widely considered the most elegant woman in the world, Babe Paley was a former *Vogue* editor and the wife of CBS founder William S. Paley. Capote was closest to her, making her betrayal in the chapter—which detailed her husband's infidelity and her stoic suffering—the most painful. The fallout from the scandal is often cited as a contributing factor to her early death from lung cancer.
  • Slim Keith (Portrayed by Diane Lane): A quintessential California-born socialite and style icon, Slim Keith was known for her sharp wit and no-nonsense demeanor. She was one of the first to cut Capote off after the publication of "La Côte Basque, 1965," feeling a deep sense of personal violation. Her character in the novel was a composite of several real-life figures.
  • C.Z. Guest (Portrayed by Chloë Sevigny): A celebrated equestrian, fashion designer, and columnist, C.Z. Guest was the only Swan who remained relatively unscathed and maintained a cautious, distant relationship with Capote after the scandal. She was known for her classic, understated American style.
  • Lee Radziwill (Portrayed by Calista Flockhart): The younger sister of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Lee Radziwill was a jet-setting princess known for her perpetual pursuit of a successful career in acting or interior design. Her complex, often shadowed life was fodder for Capote's gossip.
  • Marella Agnelli (Portrayed by Katya Herbers): Known as "The Last Swan," Marella Agnelli was an Italian noblewoman and art collector, famous for her long, graceful neck and her marriage to the head of Fiat, Gianni Agnelli. She was a European icon of style and sophistication.
  • Gloria Guinness (Portrayed by Michelle Dockery): A Mexican-born socialite and fashion icon, Gloria Guinness was a fixture in European high society. She was known for her immense wealth and her impeccable, avant-garde style, making her an irresistible target for Capote's keen observations.

The Incendiary Chapter: What Was in "La Côte Basque, 1965"?

The publication of a single chapter in *Esquire* in November 1975 was the literary equivalent of a nuclear bomb. Capote had been promising his magnum opus, *Answered Prayers*, for years, touting it as a modern-day *Remembrance of Things Past*—a sweeping novel that would expose the hidden lives of the wealthy elite. The "La Côte Basque, 1965" excerpt confirmed the worst fears of his friends: he had used their deepest vulnerabilities, shared in confidence, as material for his fiction. The chapter, set during a lunch at the famous New York restaurant La Côte Basque, contained several explosive, barely disguised anecdotes. The most damaging were:
  1. The Paley Infidelity: The character based on Babe Paley discovers a shocking, intimate item left by her husband’s mistress in a house they were using. The character's emotional devastation and her husband's cruelty were laid bare for the world to read, confirming years of private speculation about the Paley marriage.
  2. The Ann Woodward Murder Scandal: The chapter included a thinly veiled account of the 1955 shooting of banking heir William Woodward Jr. by his socialite wife, Ann Woodward (portrayed by Demi Moore in *Feud*). While Woodward claimed she mistook him for a burglar, Capote's fictionalized version strongly suggested she knew exactly who she was shooting. Ann Woodward committed suicide just days before the *Esquire* issue was released, a tragedy that forever stained Capote's reputation.
  3. The Radziwill-Onassis Rivalry: Capote used his access to Lee Radziwill to detail her complex, often fraught relationship with her sister, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, providing intimate glimpses into the lives of America's unofficial royalty.
  4. The Financial Ruin: The chapter included a story about a wealthy man who was facing financial ruin, a detail that was based on the reality of one of the Swans' husbands, further embarrassing the family.
The immediate fallout was absolute. The Swans, led by a furious Slim Keith, completely ostracized Capote. He was banished from the glittering parties, the private jets, and the intimate lunches that had defined his life. He became a pariah, a man who had traded friendship for fame, only to lose both.

The Tragic Aftermath: The Price of Betrayal and the 2024 Revival

The Capote versus The Swans feud marked the beginning of Truman Capote’s long, tragic decline. Unable to cope with the isolation and the loss of his muses, he descended further into alcoholism and drug abuse. He never finished *Answered Prayers*, and the remaining fragments were published posthumously in 1987. Capote himself died in 1984, a burnt-out shell of the literary prodigy who had written *In Cold Blood* and *Breakfast at Tiffany's*. The 2024 FX series *Feud: Capote vs. The Swans*, executive produced by Ryan Murphy and directed by Gus Van Sant, has successfully reignited interest in this era of high society scandal and literary tragedy.

The Stellar Cast and Critical Acclaim

The series' success is largely attributed to its stellar ensemble cast, which delivered powerful performances that captured the nuance of the era:
  • Tom Hollander’s Truman Capote: Critics universally praised Hollander for disappearing into the role, capturing Capote's unique voice, charm, and, ultimately, his profound loneliness and self-destructive tendencies. His portrayal emphasizes the emotional toll the betrayal took on the writer himself.
  • The Swans' Depth: The actresses, including Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, and Chloë Sevigny, were lauded for bringing depth to characters often dismissed as mere socialites. The show successfully shifts the focus from Capote’s perspective to the women’s pain, exploring how the scandal impacted their lives, marriages, and legacies.
  • Topical Authority: The series uses the scandal to explore deeper themes of female friendships, the performative nature of wealth, and the destructive power of gossip, making it highly relevant to contemporary discussions about celebrity culture and the media's role in personal lives.
The series served as a powerful, up-to-date reminder that the secrets of the ultra-rich are often the most fragile and that literary genius can sometimes be a mask for profound cruelty. The ultimate takeaway from the Capote versus The Swans saga, as highlighted by the 2024 production, is that in the war between friendship and fame, both sides lost everything. The Swans lost their confidant, and Capote lost his life.
capote versus the swan
capote versus the swan

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