Study Task 01: In Cold Blood Research/ Book Overview

In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966; it details the 1959 murders of four members of the Herbert Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas.

It's one of America's most haunting crime stories: four members of a Kansas family brutally murdered on Nov. 15, 1959, at their rural farmhouse.

The slayings of the Clutters — chronicled in Truman Capote's book, "In Cold Blood" — have overshadowed the town of Holcomb for the past half century and the trial and execution of the culprits has brought little, if any, closure.

For many townsfolk, the wounds have been slow to heal partly because of Capote's critically acclaimed, nonfiction novel that spawned a new literary genre. The book has been reviled in its birthplace by residents because of its recreation of events that never happened and what they say is commercial exploitation of the victims. The subsequent movies have also been unpopular here.

"They made a tremendous amount of money off our great tragedy," said Bob Rupp, who as a teenager dated Nancy Clutter.

The horrific slayings of Herbert Clutter, a prominent farmer and community leader, and his wife, Bonnie Mae Fox, along with their children, 15-year-old Kenyon and 16-year-old Nancy, shattered the innocence of a generation accustomed to leaving their doors unlocked.

The hunt for their killers — parolees Dick Hickock and Perry Smith — mesmerized the nation, drawing journalists from across the country to this rural outpost on the Kansas prairie.

‘Major work of American literature’ Then when Capote's book hit the shelves, it forever linked the small town with a crime now known around the world.

The townspeople of Holcomb and other friends of the Clutters are deeply affected by the murders. This includes Nancy's best friend, Sue, and Nancy's boyfriend, Bobby. The townspeople perceived the Clutters as the family "least likely" in the world to be murdered. Unable to conceive that the killers were strangers, many of them become suspicious of everyone and anxious about their own safety in the company of their neighbors. The man who heads the murder investigation, Al Dewey, becomes obsessed with both the murderers and the Clutter family. His need to find the killers becomes his driving force in life.

QUESTIONS ABOUT BOOK: 

When was the Clutter family murdered?
Over fifty years ago, it was the scene of the brutal murder of Clutter, his wife Bonnie and their two children inspiring Truman Capote to write "In Cold Blood." HOLCOMB, Kan. — It's one of America's most haunting crime stories: four members of a Kansas family brutally murdered on Nov. 15, 1959, at their rural farmhouse.

Who was the killer in In Cold Blood?
Convicted of the crime were Perry Edward Smith and Richard Eugene Hickock, who were sent to the Kansas State Penitentiary. Soon after, the killers became the subjects of Truman Capote's non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood.

How old was Nancy Clutter?
Until her murder at age 16, Nancy Clutter was everyone's friend. And she was Bob Rupp's first love. But the young couple's romance ended in tragedy when Nancy, her parents and her 15-year-old brother were brutally murdered in their Holcomb farmhouse on Nov. 15, 1959.

Who really killed the Clutter family?

Alvin Dewey, chief investigator of the Clutter family murders, testified at the trial that Hickock insisted in his confession that Smith performed all the killings; Smith, however, first claimed Hickock killed the women but later claimed to have shot them himself.

Who is the speaker in the book In Cold Blood?

Capote wrote In Cold Blood as a literary experiment. He wanted to write a "nonfiction novel." He felt that he was one of the rare creative people who actually took journalism seriously.