Swans of Fifth Avenue (Benjamin)

Book Reviews
This moving fictionalization brings the whole cast of characters back to vivid life. Gossipy and fun, it’s also a nuanced look at the beauty and cruelty of a rarefied, bygone world.
People


Benjamin’s fact-based narrative captures the era’s juiciest scandals and wildest extravagances, but...the novel’s themes are sober ones: the double-edged power of telling our stories, the ways we test and punish those we love, and the psychic cost of life lived by the mantra "appearance matters most."
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) When a desperate Capote betrays his swans by publishing their darkest secrets, friendships crumble and hearts break.... Benjamin convincingly portrays a large cast of colorful historical figures while crafting a compelling, gossipy narrative with rich emotional depth. Highly recommended. —Mara Bandy, Champaign P.L., IL
Library Journal


Class, cliques, and cattiness converge in this New York fable based on the lives of Truman Capote and his greatest fan, Babe Paley....  Elegant Babe's thoughts, if not her lips, are unsealed at last.... [Readers get] a chance to judge whether a swan's muteness can be more interesting than her gripe.
Kirkus Reviews