Capote, Truman (1924–1984)

US novelist, journalist, and playwright. After achieving early success as a writer of sparkling prose in the stories of Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948) and the novel Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958), Capote's career flagged until the sensational ‘non-fiction novel’ In Cold Blood (1965) made him a celebrity.

He was born in Louisiana and his early works, including The Grass Harp (1951), are about the South. He then moved to New York, where he wrote further novels and scripts for theatre and films, and produced documentary pieces for the New Yorker magazine. Later works included Music for Chameleons (1980) and the posthumously published Answered Prayers (1986), an unfinished novel of scandalous socialite gossip.