Truman Capote House shortly afterwards. For Capote, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was a turning point, as he explained to Roy Newquist ("Counterpoint", 1964): The "new book", "In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences" (1965), was inspired by a 300 word article that ran in the November 16, 1959 "The New York Times". The story described the unexplained murder of the Clutter family in rural Holcomb, Kansas, and quoted the local sheriff as saying, "This is apparently the case of a psychopathic killer." Fascinated by this brief news item, Capote traveled with Harper Lee to Holcomb and visited
Truman Capote main character said to be based on a mixture of Truman Capote himself and the serial killer victim Herbert Clutter (on whom "In Cold Blood" was based), meets up with a Lady Ina Coolbirth on a New York City street. This woman, who is described as "an American married to a British chemicals tycoon and a lot of woman in every way", is widely rumoured to be based on New York socialite Slim Keith. Lady Ina Coolbirth invites Jonesy to lunch at La Côte Basque. A gossipy tale of New York's elite ensues. The characters of Gloria Vanderbilt and Carol