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Too Brief a Treat

The Letters of Truman Capote

The Letters of Truman Capote

The Letters of Truman Capote

By Truman Capote
Edited by Gerald Clarke

By Truman Capote
Edited by Gerald Clarke

By Truman Capote
Edited by Gerald Clarke

By Truman Capote
Edited by Gerald Clarke

By Truman Capote
Edited by Gerald Clarke

By Truman Capote
Edited by Gerald Clarke

Best Seller

Part of Vintage International

Part of Vintage International

Paperback $23.00

Sep 13, 2005 | ISBN 9780375702419

Hardcover $27.95

Sep 21, 2004 | ISBN 9780375501333

Ebook $14.99

May 15, 2012 | ISBN 9780345803092

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    Too Brief a Treat by Truman Capote
    Paperback $23.00
    Sep 13, 2005 | ISBN 9780375702419

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      Sep 13, 2005 | ISBN 9780375702419

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    • $27.95

      Sep 21, 2004 | ISBN 9780375501333

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    • May 15, 2012 | ISBN 9780345803092

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    About Too Brief a Treat

    The private letters of Truman Capote, lovingly assembled here for the first time by acclaimed Capote biographer Gerald Clarke, provide an intimate, unvarnished portrait of one of the twentieth century’s most colorful and fascinating literary figures.

    Capote was an inveterate letter writer. He wrote letters as he spoke: emphatically, spontaneously, and passionately. Spanning more than four decades, his letters are the closest thing we have to a Capote autobiography, showing us the uncannily self-possessed naïf who jumped headlong into the post–World War II New York literary scene; the more mature Capote of the 1950s; the Capote of the early 1960s, immersed in the research and writing of In Cold Blood; and Capote later in life, as things seem to be unraveling. With cameos by a veritable who’s who of twentieth-century glitterati, Too Brief a Treat shines a spotlight on the life and times of an incomparable American writer.

    About Too Brief a Treat

    Truman Capote was hailed as one the most meticulous writers in American letters–a part of the Capote mystique is that his precise writing seemed to exist apart from his chaotic life. While the measure of Capote as a writer is best taken through his work, Capote the person is best understood in his personal correspondence with friends, colleagues, lovers, and rivals.

    In Too Brief a Treat, the acclaimed biographer Gerald Clarke brings together for the first time the private letters of Truman Capote. Encompassing more than four decades, these letters reveal the inner life of one of the twentieth century’s most intriguing personalities. As Clarke notes in his Introduction, Capote was an inveterate letter writer who both loved and craved love without inhibition. He wrote letters as he spoke: emphatically, spontaneously, and without reservation. He also wrote them at a breakneck pace, unconcerned with posterity. Thus, in this volume we have perhaps the closest thing possible to an elusive treasure: a Capote autobiography.

    Through his letters to the likes of William Styron, Gloria Vanderbilt, his publishers and editors, his longtime companion and lover Jack Dunphy, and others, we see Capote in all his life’s phases–the uncannily self-possessed na•f who jumped headlong into the dynamic post—World War Two New York literary scene and the more mature, established Capote of the 1950s. Then there is the Capote of the early 1960s, immersed in the research and writing of his masterpiece, In Cold Blood. Capote’s correspondence with Kansas detective Alvin Dewey, and with Perry Smith, one of the killers profiled in that work, demonstrates Capote’s intense devotion to his craft, while his letters to friends like Cecil Beaton show Capote giddy with his emergence as a flamboyant mass media celebrity after that book’s publication. Finally, we see Capote later in his life, as things seemed to be unraveling: when he is disillusioned, isolated by his substance abuse and by personal rivalries. (Ever effusive with praise and affection, Capote could nevertheless carry a grudge like few others).
    Too Brief a Treat is that uncommon book that gives us a literary titan’s unvarnished thoughts. It is both Gerald Clarke’s labor of love and a surpassing work of literary history.

    About Too Brief a Treat

    The private letters of Truman Capote, lovingly assembled here for the first time by acclaimed Capote biographer Gerald Clarke, provide an intimate, unvarnished portrait of one of the twentieth century’s most colorful and fascinating literary figures.

    Capote was an inveterate letter writer. He wrote letters as he spoke: emphatically, spontaneously, and passionately. Spanning more than four decades, his letters are the closest thing we have to a Capote autobiography, showing us the uncannily self-possessed naïf who jumped headlong into the post–World War II New York literary scene; the more mature Capote of the 1950s; the Capote of the early 1960s, immersed in the research and writing of In Cold Blood; and Capote later in life, as things seem to be unraveling. With cameos by a veritable who’s who of twentieth-century glitterati, Too Brief a Treat shines a spotlight on the life and times of an incomparable American writer.

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    Also by Truman Capote

    Answered Prayers
    The Early Stories of Truman Capote
    A Christmas Memory
    Portraits and Observations
    In Cold Blood
    See all books by Truman Capote

    Also by Truman Capote

    Answered Prayers
    The Early Stories of Truman Capote
    A Christmas Memory
    Portraits and Observations
    In Cold Blood
    See all books by Truman Capote

    Also by Truman Capote

    Answered Prayers
    The Early Stories of Truman Capote
    A Christmas Memory
    Portraits and Observations
    In Cold Blood
    See all books by Truman Capote

    About Truman Capote

    Truman Capote was born September 30, 1924, in New Orleans. After his parents’ divorce, he was sent to live with relatives in Monroeville, Alabama. It was here he would meet his lifelong friend, the author Harper Lee. Capote rose to… More about Truman Capote

    About Truman Capote

    Truman Capote was born September 30, 1924, in New Orleans. After his parents’ divorce, he was sent to live with relatives in Monroeville, Alabama. It was here he would meet his lifelong friend, the author Harper Lee. Capote rose to… More about Truman Capote

    About Truman Capote

    Truman Capote was born September 30, 1924, in New Orleans. After his parents’ divorce, he was sent to live with relatives in Monroeville, Alabama. It was here he would meet his lifelong friend, the author Harper Lee. Capote rose to… More about Truman Capote

    Product Details

    Category: Essays & Literary Collections | Arts & Entertainment Biographies & Memoirs | Literary Figure Biographies & Memoirs

    Paperback | $23.00
    Published by Vintage
    Sep 13, 2005 | 512 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780375702419

    Category: Essays & Literary Collections | Arts & Entertainment Biographies & Memoirs | Literary Figure Biographies & Memoirs

    Hardcover | $27.95
    Published by Random House
    Sep 21, 2004 | 512 Pages | 6-1/4 x 9-1/4 | ISBN 9780375501333

    Category: Essays & Literary Collections | Arts & Entertainment Biographies & Memoirs | Literary Figure Biographies & Memoirs

    Ebook | $14.99
    Published by Vintage
    May 15, 2012 | 512 Pages | ISBN 9780345803092

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    Praise

     “Dead funny and crackling with gossip.” —Vanity Fair

    “Here we see Capote at his witchy, bitchy best, leaving us longing for more.” —The Washington Post World

    “Chatty, funny, affectionate and wildly interested in the big world—the bigger the better—Capote the correspondent is irresistible.” —Newsday

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