Palm Beach

Augustus Mayhew's revealing and entertaining essays portray Palm Beach's larger-than-life characters, bigger-than-ever mansions and bolder-than-most pursuits. Focused on the fine line between illusion and reality so often blurred at Palm Beach, the book explores the town's standing as an ultimate destination where extravagance, eccentricity and the unexpected are commonplace. This detailed volume chronicles Palm Beach's unique ever-changing landscape from its origin as a remote tropical refuge to its transformation into an international resort playground that recreated itself as an exclusive residential enclave. "Augustus Mayhew takes nothing for granted when writing about old Palm Beach ... delves beneath the expected in new book. Mayhew's essays are written in a style as breezy as Midtown Beach in November - and with a wit as dry as a gutter on Royal Poinciana Way in February." - Palm Beach Daily News. New insights into Paris Singer and the building of the Everglades Club are gained from previously undiscovered research materials and archival sources in the United States and England. Our awareness and appreciation of Otto Kahn's role in the founding of Palm Beach's exclusive clubs are enriched by his diaries, account ledgers and correspondence found among the Otto H. Kahn Papers at Princeton University's Firestone Library. On a lighter note, Judge James R. Knott's wedding diary documents the numerous at-home ceremonies he performed, taking the reader inside the world of private Palm Beach where guests were asked to hum "Here Comes the Bride." Considering Palm Beach's fondness for distractions, the book also delves into the resort's passion for aviation, dancing, portraits, movie-making, marriage and divorce. Comprised of essays originally published at the New York Social Diary, Palm Beach Daily News and Palm Beach Life magazine, this new collection is illustrated with numerous historical photographs.