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Truman Capote (1924-1984)

IN COLD BLOOD

In 1959, Capote set out to create a new literary genre - the non-fiction novel. He was inspired to do this after he learned of the quadruple murder of Herbert Clutter, a wealthy Kansas farmer, his wife and two children. He decided to go to Kansas and write about the crime.  His childhood friend, Harper Lee and author of To Kill a Mockingbird, accompanied him.  They took thousands of pages of notes from their interviews of local residents, investigators, and eventually the two killers, Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Smith, who were arrested shortly after the murder.  It took Capote six years to eventually complete IN COLD BLOOD. The book sold out immediately and became one of the most talked about books of its time. It became an instant classic and brought Capote millions of dollars and an unparallel fame of almost any other literary author since.

Capote said of IN COLD BLOOD, "This book was an important event for me. While writing it, I realized I just might have found a solution to what had always been my greatest creative quandary. I wanted to produce a journalistic novel, something on a large scale that would have the credibility of fact, the immediacy of film, the depth and freedom of prose, and the precision of poetry."

Link to In Cold Blood Case Background

Truman Capote has been considered one of America's most controversial and colorful authors. For more information click on this link Truman Capote

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