Madness Under the Royal Palms ─ Love and Death Behind the Gates of Palm Beach

For a hundred years Palm Beach has been a fantasy land nurtured by, and maintained for, the megawealthy. Leave it to Laurence Leamer, the author known for getting the inside story on his elusive subjects, to take us behind the walls of America's most exclusive enclave. He tells a braided story involving a socialite determined to make it to the top of Palm Beach society, two infamous murders, and a powerful society reporter. As a backdrop, Leamer tells the story of the clash between old money and new, religion and status, and the love, lust, and fatal hatreds that determine the shape of a fiercely protected society. The cast of characters include trophy wives, trophy husbands, purported gigolos, glamorous widows, a pioneering gay couple, a wildly irreverent event planner, a sociopathic multimillionaire, and an elegant society queen.--From publisher description.

Laurence Leamer is the author of twelve books, including Make-Believe: The Life of Nancy and Ronald Reagan, The Kennedy Women,The Kennedy Men, King of the Night: The Life of Johnny Carson andFantastic: The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger. A member of the Peace Corps and a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism, Leamer was on staff atNewsweek, and has written for The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Playboy and many other publications.