Truman Capote Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Plays

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Truman Capote was an accomplished American writer of stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction. Many of his works are widely considered to be literary classics. He is known for such works as the 1958 novel Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which inspired an iconic film adaptation by the same name starring Audrey Hepburn.

He is also known for his nonfiction book, In Cold Blood. The 1965 novel was about a sensational murder case and Capote got to know the criminals accused of the crime while visiting them in jail. It was made into a movie and later a t.v. series. Several movies as well as television dramas have been made and adapted from stories, novels, and screenplays by Capote, such as Hello Stranger and The Grass Harp.

Capote was born on September 30, 1924, as Truman Streckfus Persons. His parents would get a divorce when Truman was just 4. He would live with relatives of his mother’s in Alabama in Monroeville. It would mark the beginning of an extended absence from his mother.

As a result, Truman was often lonely. He would learn how to read as well as write before he formally went into school. At just 8, he found out that he did have a talent for writing and spent his childhood honing that ability to write. He would start off his career by writing short stories.

He would go in 1933 to finally live in a home with his mother. She had remarried to Joseph Capote, a businessman that had been born in Cuba. The new father figure adopted Truman and so his name was changed legally to Capote. He was also enrolled in a private school. He graduated in 1952 and then started a job working at The New Yorker as a copy boy.

He continued to write. The short stories that he produced would be published to good acclaim and they eventually would get him into a happening circle of literary people and critics. His story “Miriam” in 1945 enjoyed such critical success that it would get the attention of Bennett Cerf, a publisher at Random House.

This would lead unexpectedly to Capote receiving the contract to write a novel. This would be his first fiction novel, “Other Voices, Other Rooms”. It would be published in 1948 and was a best seller. The book also got some attention and press due to a seductive photo of Capote which featured the author gazing out of the photo.

However, the book that would gain him the most fame and attention would be “In Cold Blood’. The journalistic nonfiction story was all about the horrific murder of a family in Kansas in their own home. Capote would spend an enormous amount of time working on this book, would dedicate four years to its composition, and did his research on the subject. He was also helped by Harper Lee, who was a friend and would be a fellow celebrated American literary author as well.

The success of the publication of In Cold Blood would be unrivaled by many other books that came out at the time. For Capote, it would be the height of his literary career. A popular culture touchstone and global bestseller, it was an engaging read made riveting due to insight gleaned by Capote from hours visiting with the men who were accused of murdering the innocent Clutter family in their Holcomb house.

Capote wrote a ton during the fifties and sixties, and would also launch into a social status that made him many new friends, famous and wealthy. He became a celebrity and would attempt to maintain that into the seventies by making appearances on talk shows for television. He never achieved the prolific pace he had set earlier again, publishing more rarely after the success of “Blood’ and suffering, dealing with addiction to alcohol. Capote would pass away at the age of 59 on August 25, 1984.

The first fictional novel to come out from Truman Capote is titled Other Voices, Other Rooms. The book was an early release and came out when the author was just 23 years of age. This is a literary classic and a touchstone for the mid-2oth century.

The book is a coming of age story that is somewhat autobiographical. It is the tale of young Joel Knox. At 13 years old, he has lost his mother and is now being set from the city of New Orleans to be with his father. He’ll be living there with the parent that actually abandoned him ever since he was born, so it’s going to be an adjustment.

Joel treks to Skully’s Landing, as the mansion decaying in the middle of Alabama’s rural area is called. Once he gets there, it seems that his father is nowhere in the area. He just finds that his stepmother Amy is there, a morose woman that does not seem all too cheerful. Joel also gets introduced to his cousin Randolph, who is a bit eccentric, and Idabel, a little girl that appears to be defiant but may just be a little bundle of love.

You can feel the weariness and the tiredness of Capote that comes through. This story deals with themes of lost innocence and hopes put to the side in a tale that could only have been written by an individual that went through it himself, all combined with a place and a time and the small pleasures of a world now gone by.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is another fantastic fictional novel written by author Truman Capote. Adapted into a Hollywood classic movie, this is one book you will definitely want to read and follow up with the film to compare the two!

Holly Golightly is the main character in this quirky and charming story about a girl and her cat. The time is the 1940s and the place is New York. The martinis are always flowing in New York at this time, from the hour of cocktails until breakfast hour at Tiffany’s.

Holly is gorgeous with tawny hair, fragile and pursued by millionaires and gangsters alike. She is a traveler and a breaker of hearts, endlessly perplexing, and a classic American character that you’ll fall in love with. Read this book and then watch the film to catch it all for yourself!