In March 1999, a Palm Beach matron and her socially ambitious husband invited the elite of the island for a dinner dance honoring Prince Edward. Among those dancing to the string orchestra that evening would be those accused of murder and spousal abuse, and others who would suffer fates both unseemly and unspeakable. Among the outer circle there would be murders, suicides, and fatal fires. There would be those who would rise from the dust of obscurity to the heights of wealth and those who would fall to oblivion and disgrace.
Thus begins Madness Under the Royal Palms. Leave it to Laurence Leamer, the bestselling author known for getting the inside story on his elusive subjects, to take us behind the walls of America's most exclusive enclave of wealth and privilege. Here Leamer 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.
For 100 years, Palm Beach has been a fantasyland nurtured by, and maintained for, the megawealthy. In the end, Leamer's tale of money, murder, and mad pretension reveals a darker strain. Uncovering that strain, the author writes, "turned into as fascinating, in some cases as shocking, and always as unexpected a journey as I have ever taken."
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"Although i can't say I was surprised by the content of this book, I did find it hard to put down. No it doesn't surprise me that the ultra-wealthy have no class, morals, compassion or care for anyone other than themselves, they've always been as such. Never ONCE have I met someone with money who doesn't TRY to make me feel inferior or unworthy of their company. Emphasis on "try" of course, because I certainly don't envy their lives, their cars, their clothing, their homes. Give me my middle class up-bringing in a loving home built by immigrant parents, who both worked their tails off to survive and provide for their family. Give me the love and presence of both parents, religion, respect and discipline that is forever ingrained in me til death; values that I now instill in my own children and hopefully, they will instill in their own. This world of excess, self-indulgence, and a sense of entitlement undeserving, falls apart eventually. They create their own downfalls, and I haven't the least bit of sympathy for any of them. The need to have more and more and more, no matter the cost, homes bigger than most neighborhoods, cars that cost the amount it would take to feed a third world country. Philanthropists??? Are we suppose to be appeased by their donations to charities? It's just another way to filter their fortunes, and receive taxable deductions. It makes me angry to know that these people are celebrated, worshipped and placed on pedestals, when the more worthy, hard-working citizens go unnoticed. America's Rich and Shameless."
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Adriana (4 out of 5 stars)