Truman Capote, In Cold Blood

John Dolis (Penn State University)

Ed. by Christopher Hugh Gair, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1966

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
Novel

Resources

Having published numerous works, including several short stories, works for stage and screen, and such novels as Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948) and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958), Truman Capote (1924-1984) had already established a reputation as a notable writer of fiction when, on 16 November 1959, he perused a story in The New York Times (“Wealthy Farmer, 3 of Family Slain”): “A wealthy wheat farmer, his wife and their two young children were found shot to death today in their home. They had been killed by shotgun blasts at close range after being bound and gagged.” Capote had expressed a certain dissatisfaction with fiction writing for some time, hoping to compose what he termed a “nonfiction novel” of epic scope. The opportunity had now arrived. He packed his bags and, with an old friend from...

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2300 words

Citation: Dolis, John. "In Cold Blood". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 January 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4516, accessed 09 June 2026.]

Truman Capote, In Cold Blood

Dates

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Resources

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