false 3526429 3 <P>In March of 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. </p><P><P>Thus begins <i>Madness Under the Royal Palms</i>. 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. In <i>Madness</i>, 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. </p> <P>For a hundred years, Palm Beach has been a fantasy land 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, as the author himself writes, "turned into as fascinating, in some cases as shocking, and always as unexpected a journey as I have ever taken." </p> 3568176 1 3 2009 Madness Under the Royal Palms: Murder, Money and Mischief Behind the Gates of Palm Beach total:77|5:4|4:21|3:28|2:17|1:7| 77 229 132 38 5 1 false false Fri Apr 24 13:29:40 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 13:32:10 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Sep 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 12:02:01 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 12:02:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon May 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 08 11:10:45 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 08:08:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Tue Apr 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 08:18:42 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 10:32:19 -0700 2009
this is one of the worst books I've ever read...more...]]> 1 0 false false Mon Jun 29 07:30:39 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 07:30:04 -0700 2009
The dust jacket of this book promised pages of love, death, murder and intiruge and it delivered gossip, dysfunction an...more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Jul 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 05:14:32 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 13:34:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 1 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 13 12:11:11 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 19:35:56 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Apr 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 17:06:34 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 13:18:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 12:29:11 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 13:46:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Mar 29 20:30:50 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 29 20:41:32 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed May 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 04:40:28 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 04:42:06 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Oct 18 10:35:13 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 18 10:37:06 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 17:19:51 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 17:22:51 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Apr 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 22:41:24 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 22:44:05 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Mon Mar 16 08:18:09 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 08:36:12 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 12:31:55 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 12:35:19 -0700 2009 4 0 true false Sun Apr 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 19:08:02 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 19:11:24 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Wed Feb 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 08:29:41 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 14:24:54 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Fri Mar 13 06:43:03 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 06:43:57 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Mar 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 06:40:41 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 06:42:09 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3526429