Interview: January 28, 2016

Melanie Benjamin, the New York Times bestselling author of such novels as ALICE I HAVE BEEN and THE AVIATOR’S WIFE, is back with her latest foray into historical fiction: THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE, a triumphant novel about New York’s “Swans” of the 1950s --- and the scandalous, headline-making and enthralling friendship between literary legend Truman Capote and peerless socialite Babe Paley. In this interview, Benjamin talks with Bookreporter.com's co-founder, Carol Fitzgerald, about Babe Paley and the Swans, “the first Real Housewives of New York” --- from their glitz and glamour to their complicated relationship with Capote and beyond.  

Bookreporter.com: Every story begins with the kernel of an idea. How did THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE get its start?

Melanie Benjamin: I was roaming my office one day, perusing the books on my shelves. I’ve done that before, when looking for a new book topic. That’s how I decided to write THE AVIATOR’S WIFE; I spied an old copy of a biography of Charles Lindbergh, and voilà! So I was looking at all the different books, biographies, histories and fiction when I came across the one book I owned that was written by Truman Capote. This was ANSWERED PRAYERS, his unfinished collection of gossipy, biting observations about high society. ANSWERED PRAYERS includes a short story called “La Cote Basque 1965,” which I vaguely recalled had ignited a literary scandal.

I thought a literary scandal wasn’t the worst idea for a novel! So I did some quick research and realized “literary scandal” barely scratched the surface of what happened to Truman after he published this short story in which he betrayed every secret ever told to him by his closest friends, his “swans” of New York society. So immediately, I had the ending of my book, and it was juicy: Truman’s spiral to drug and alcohol addiction, his descent into being the campy character I knew from my childhood. But how did this story begin? That’s why I decided to write THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE, to discover that.

BRC: What intrigued you most about Babe Paley and the Swans?

MB: Obviously, they struck me immediately as the first Real Housewives of New York, in a way: beautiful women married to wealthy men, women whose only job was to look and stay beautiful. But as I got to know them better, I was intrigued by how much each one of these swans felt she had to conceal from the world. Origins, childhood traumas, vulnerabilities, ambition. The price of perfection is high, and by the end, I empathized with each and every one. On the surface, their lives were so enviable. But they were real women, brought up in a different time when, in order to break out of poverty or attain security, marriage was often the only option. That’s so important for today’s readers to remember when reading this novel. 

BRC: There are so many dishy details in the book. Reading it, I felt like I had a seat at the table, at the parties and in the dressing room. Was it as much fun to write as it is to read?

MB: Oh, yes! It was like being invited to the most fabulous, swanky Manhattan soiree, eavesdropping and gossiping and drinking champagne! Of course, more serious themes are played out in the book, but I admit, I loved this aspect to it. I’m an unabashed fan of gossip and society --- from afar, at any rate.

BRC: Babe Paley’s life was so demanding. While it appears that she was a woman who just lunched and dined, there were a lot of social obligations imposed on her, as well as extraordinary personal pressure that she placed on herself. The pages where she races home to completely re-dress before Bill gets home so she can refresh her makeup and change into a fresh outfit was just one example of this. Was it surprising to you?

MB: Yes and no. When you have a woman like Babe, a woman of intelligence and early ambition, but who was groomed only to be a trophy wife by her own mother and denied a serious education, you are going to have a woman with some serious psychological issues. She had to channel her creativity into the only things expected of her: looking her best, having the best house, taking care of her powerful husband. Babe, so serious, chose to absolutely dedicate every minute of the day to these things, which, on the surface, might strike us as being completely frivolous. And yes, this life is, in many ways.

But Babe perfected it and, in doing so, placed such pressure on herself, pressure to look her best always, despite aging, despite trends changing. Pressure to keep her maddening, wandering husband happy and amused all the time --- yet being taken completely for granted by him. So that’s the dichotomy in Babe; she did devote herself to the surface things in life --- her appearance, clothes, parties, makeup, etc. But she did it so seriously and creatively, and it was the only avenue granted to her, so you have to admire her, even so. And pity her, at the same time. And she, no doubt, felt this dichotomy herself. 

BRC: The Swans were as different as they were similar. Was there one with whom you personally identified?

MB: Slim! Slim Hawks Hayward Keith! Her voice in this is the most like my own, by far, and I just loved her. She had a cynicism about her life, an ability to look at it from the outside, that I so enjoyed. She had no tolerance for bull. She enjoyed her life, unabashedly, but didn’t take it or herself as seriously as someone like Gloria Guinness. I just loved her.

BRC: Why do you think the Swans loved Truman Capote?

MB: Initially, it was because he was the latest “find,” the “get” everyone wanted for their dinner parties. Then, he amused them so much. But ultimately, I think they were all starved for affection; their husbands, by and large, took them for granted. Truman didn’t. He admired their looks, completely and wholeheartedly, and the effort it took to be fabulous. He admired the homes, their yachts. He identified with their struggles, which most of the world would never want to do, because we don’t like to sympathize with the rich, for some reason. And because he wasn’t another woman, there was no jealousy in their relationship with him, which had to have been a relief.

BRC: Truman betrays Babe, and from there his position with the Swans changes. Why do you feel he did this? Do you think he knew he crossed a line, or was he too self-absorbed to even see that?

MB: I see it in a lot of ways. I see that Truman was a writer who was terrified of having to write something after the stunning literary and commercial success of IN COLD BLOOD. He was suffering from some major writer’s block and feeling the pressure of having to publish something, so he did the easiest thing he could do: He tattled. He stole his swans’ stories for his own use and professional gain. He claimed that he never, ever thought he was crossing a line; that his swans had all known he was a writer, and would someday make use of all their secrets that they (perhaps stupidly) told him. To which I say, bull! I think he knew he was crossing that line, and I think there’s a part of him that did it deliberately to test their love for him. He was so damaged by the abandonment by his own mother, and he always knew that his swans --- with perhaps the exception of Babe --- only loved him very conditionally. And he was starving for unconditional love. So, in a way, they let him down as well.

BRC: Did you read Truman’s work in anticipation of this novel? Do you have a favorite book or story?

MB: I’d only read OTHER VOICES, OTHER ROOMS, ANSWERED PRAYERS and BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S. After deciding to write this novel, I then read everything else. I really do love THE GRASS HARP. And IN COLD BLOOD --- which my mother wouldn’t let me read when I was a child, even though she owned it! --- is amazing.   

BRC: The story flows so seamlessly. Did the writing come easy?

MB: Yes, it did! It doesn’t always, but hopefully the reader won’t be able to tell which book was easy to write and which was hard in the end. THE AVIATOR’S WIFE was hard. THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE, relatively pain-free. But I like to think that anyone who’s read them both wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

BRC: Did anything end up being edited out that you regretted leaving on the editing floor?

MB: No, not this time! Rarely does that happen, actually. My editor is brilliant, and in my memory, at least, everything she’s suggested cutting has only made the book better, and I’ve always immediately agreed with her. (Now ask her --- she may have a different story!)

BRC: I must ask: What is your cocktail of choice?

MB: Gin and tonic with a lemon, not a lime!

BRC: You grew up in the Midwest but always loved New York. When you travel to the city, what are some of your favorite things to do?

MB: You know, just walking the streets is my favorite thing to do. Every time I go, it seems I explore a new neighborhood, simply by walking and looking and wandering in and out of buildings and shops. But I do love the Metropolitan Museum of Art, of course, and the Frick, and I like to see shows, but I don’t always get to do that. When I was in town researching THE SWANS, my agent took me to tea at the St. Regis, which was so posh! Oh, and I think I could spend every single moment at the Paley Center for Media, looking at old television shows!

BRC: You are going to be touring extensively for this book. What is your favorite hotel escape when you are on the road?

MB: Two words: room service! I rarely eat before an event, which are almost exclusively in the evening. Normally my day is: Up at dawn to catch a plane, be taken around town signing books or hopefully doing media, going to the hotel to change, spending the evening doing my talk and signing books and happily chatting with everyone. So when I finally return to the hotel room, kicking off my heels, pulling on my jammies and ordering room service to unwind is pure bliss. 

BRC: You were working on another book between THE AVIATOR’S WIFE and THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE that you walked away from. Can you share with our readers what happened, knowing that we at Bookreporter.com applaud an author who takes a bold step like this with her or his craft? How tough was it to abandon a project well on its way?

MB: Personally, it’s not as tough as you might think. The one thing I do not fear is ever running out of words or stories. So to put something away doesn’t terrify me; I always have something new on the horizon I want to explore. Without going into too many details, I simply realized that, after having written this book, I was far too happy. Too happy to be done with it! Too happy to leave it behind! It just wasn’t a book I wanted to spend any more time with; it didn’t excite me in the way I need to be excited about a finished novel. Once a book is published, I’ve learned, you are going to spend a year or two --- if it’s a success --- talking about it. And you really have to want to do that! You really have to love it, and never want to stop talking about.

This book did not do that for me, and I had to think, “Well, if I’m so happy to be done with it, and I wrote it, that’s not a good sign. It’s not a good sign that readers are going to love it, and want to tell everyone they know about it.” I wish it hadn’t taken me to the end of the book to figure this out, but sometimes it does. That’s life! I learn something from every book I write, published or unpublished. And I have never had the kind of ego that thinks everything I write should be read. Nobody’s that good! 

BRC: Can you share what you are working on now?

MB: I’m afraid not, other than it’s a story I’ve wanted to tell for a long time, and finally the timing is right.