FIFTH AVENUE, 5 A.M.

This New York Times Best Book of the Year is sub-titled 'Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman'. Truman Capote's film Breakfast at Tiffany's is brought into focus in a book rich in incident and set among the glitterati of America's most glamorous era with juicy film gossip and behind-the-scenes insight on how Audrey Hepburn and designer Hubert de Givenchy created Holly Golightly's iconic style and that little black dress. Wasson goes beyond the legend to explore the woman and the film that captured the imagination of the nation in 1961, when the staid propriety of the Eisenhower years gave way to the glamorous modernity of the Kennedys. With a colourful cast of characters including Truman Capote, Edith Head, Givenchy, 'Moon River' composer Henry Mancini and of course the iconic Audrey Hepburn herself, Wasson in his exquisite portrait of Audrey Hepburn peels back her sweet façade to reveal a much more complicated and interesting woman and he captures a fascinating turning point in American history and a transformation of notions of fashion, film, sex and culture. It is worth reading just to find out exactly what went into making the amazing party scene; this is an enjoyable and informative book, everything a film book ought to be. 231pp, paperback, photos.