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''Answered Prayers'' is an unfinished novel by American author Truman Capote, published posthumously in 1986 in England and in 1987 in the United States. == History == The title is in reference to a quote by Saint Teresa of Ávila: "Answered prayers cause more tears than those that remain unanswered". According to Joseph M. Fox's editor's note to the 1987 edition, Capote signed the initial contract for the novel—envisioned as being a contemporary American analog to Marcel Proust's ''In Search of Lost Time''—on January 5, 1966 with Random House. This agreement provided a $25,000 advance with a stipulated delivery date of January 1, 1968.〔Capote Truman: ''Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel'', page xi. Random House, 1987〕 Distracted by the unprecedented success of his "nonfiction novel" ''In Cold Blood'' amid the gestation of the Black and White Ball (a party thrown by Capote in honor of Katharine Graham at the Plaza Hotel in November 1966), various television projects, short pieces and increasing personal demons, Capote missed his 1968 deadline. In July 1969, the superannuated 1966 contract was renegotiated, granting a "substantially larger" $750,000 advance in exchange for a trilogy to be delivered in January 1973.〔Capote Truman: ''Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel'', page xii. Random House, 1987〕〔(The Self-Destructive Spiral of Truman Capote After Answered Prayers | Vanity Fair )〕 The delivery date was further delayed to January 1974 and then September 1977.〔 A final agreement in early 1980 would have yielded Capote $1,000,000 to have been paid only if he submitted the manuscript by March 1, 1981. This final deadline was not kept.〔Capote Truman: ''Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel'', page xiii. Random House, 1987〕 In May 1971, on ''The Dick Cavett Show'', Capote referred to the book as his "posthumous novel", explaining, "either I'm going to kill it, or it's going to kill me". The book is a somewhat sordid tale of the mixing of high and low social classes, drawn from his experiences as best friend and confidant to the most prominent female socialites of the era and their husbands. The first chapter of ''Answered Prayers'', "Unspoiled Monsters", chronicles the "picaresque" exploits of P.B. Jones, a young writer (enmeshed in the process of writing a novel, ''Answered Prayers'') and "bisexual hustler" who "beds men and women alike if they can further his literary career" in the 1940s New York literary milieu; accordingly, both Katherine Anne Porter and Tennessee Williams are depicted in a vituperative light.〔 Jones (who later appears as the main interlocutor in "La Cote Basque") is believed to be a composite of Capote, Perry Smith from ''In Cold Blood'', and Capote's late friend Denham Fouts. The eponymous protagonist of the comparatively obfuscatory "Kate McCloud" (and the ostensible heroine of the novel) was inspired by Mona von Bismarck, the eldest of Capote's society friends.〔(The New York Times: Book Review Search Article )〕 By 1975, Capote's increasingly outrageous public behavior, fueled by alcohol, drugs and sexual indiscretion led many to believe that he had no intention of ever publishing ''Answered Prayers'' and had given up writing to follow in the footsteps of his fabulous friends as a professional socialite. To prove that he was still a viable and productive writer, Capote sold four chapters ("Mojave", "La Cote Basque", "Unspoiled Monsters", and "Kate McCloud") of the novel-in-progress to ''Esquire'' at the behest of Gordon Lish in 1975 and 1976. This resulted in an uproar among Capote's friends and acquaintances, who recognized thinly veiled characters based on themselves. Both "Mojave" and "La Cote Basque" were exposes of the dysfunctional personal lives led by the author's social benefactors, including CBS head William S. Paley, his wife Babe (then terminally ill with cancer), Gloria Vanderbilt (depicted as being insufferably vacuous), Happy Rockefeller, and Ann Woodward. The Paleys would never socialize with Capote again and led an exodus of ostracizing friends. From a literary viewpoint the chapters received a mixed reaction. Some, like Capote biographer Gerald Clarke, consider ''Answered Prayers'' to be the culmination of the factual novel form first employed by the author with ''In Cold Blood'' and a testimonial to his talent's ability to transcend substance abuse. Others, namely Norman Mailer, praised Capote's technique but questioned the seemingly frivolous plotline of escapades among the socially outmoded jet set. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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