After making it big as the author of Breakfast at Tiffany's and then the grandfather of the non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood, American author Truman Capote set out to write his magnum opus, a literary work of art that would rival Marcel Proust. But the book, Answered Prayers, became the greatest novel that never was, due to high-society outrage and inner demons...

Additional narrations in this episode were provided by Sharon Hyland. Theme music is credited to Wendy Marcini, Elvin Vanguard, and Jules Gaia.

Instagram: @literaryscandals

Selected bibliography:

• Deliberate Cruelty: Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century by Roseanne Montillo

• Capote's Women by Laurence Leamer

• "Capote's Swan Dive," Vanity Fair

• "Answered Prayers: the mysterious manuscript that devastated Truman Capote," Penguin Random House

• "Why, Exactly, Did Truman Capote Expose His High-Society Confidantes’ Darkest Secrets?," British Vogue