Saul Martinez for The New York Times
PALM BEACH, Fla. — In this exclusive, image-conscious retreat where enormous hedges encircle grand mansions and valets park cars at the supermarket, wealthy residents pay vast sums to shield their private lives from view, even as they crave to be seen at the charitable events and black-tie galas that go on almost daily from November to May, a glittering time known as “the season.”
The messier reality is that the history of this 18-mile barrier island, a playground for the rich for more than a century, is littered with stories of American aristocrats who failed to stay out of the local tabloids.