Sex and Dying in High Society

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
May 9th 2009 at 8:01AM

Laurence Leamer, author of The Kennedy Women, examines the seamier side of Palm Beach's high society in his new book Madness Under the Royal Palms: Love and Death Behind the Gates of Palm Beach. Described as an "inside look at this playground of the rich, and its under-class of social-climbing wannabes," the book traces the history of Palm Beach and its most famous estates before examining some of the posh town's more infamous scandals.

Publisher's Weekly says the book's "highly visual vignettes - dominated by divorce, infidelity, excessive drinking and violence - produce a depressing picture of sad, angry, insecure and frequently nasty people hiding behind empty smiles, luxury cars and socially invisible servants," noting that while some may find it "a penetrating portrayal of a privileged segment of the American population, others might regard it as a book-length gossip column."

Tags: Florida, high society, HighSociety, Palm Beach, PalmBeach, socialites