Done & Dunne

In our continuing discovery of Dominick Dunne's 1986 quest for the Real Palm Beach, we take a journey back into 1985, when Armand Hammer hosts The Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles and Diana, for a charity ball at The Breakers on their way home from a very successful visit at the Reagan White House. You know it - it was the one that Princess Diana danced with John Travolta - but there is so much more to the story when the royal couple arrives in Palm Beach. Scandal ensues.All sources can be found at doneanddone.com.Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we investigate the most exclusive party in Palm Beach, The Coconuts. It is a New Years Eve ritual, enjoyed by a very privileged few. For a town mostly run by the ladies, this is the one night the men take over the gala in thanks to the Grand Dames. Something must be amazing out the event – it celebrated its 100th anniversary December 31, 2022. All sources can be found at doneanddone.com.Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is a whole new season, investigators! This month we travel to one of the most exclusive, and wealthy, communities in the high society scene - Palm Beach, Florida. Dominick Dunne goes on a quest early in his Vanity Fair career that will continue through the years. This season posits the question: What is the Real Palm Beach?Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon!Further ReadingFatal Charms: And Other Tales of Today, by Dominick Dunne (Amazon link)The Women of Palm Beach, by Dominick Dunne, April 1986, Vanity Fair  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We conclude January with the conclusion of Kick Kennedy's story and her Kennedy family too, from 1940 onward. World War II is only one of the catastrophes playing out within this decade for the family. Included is all of Kick's arc, and well as her siblings, Joe Jr. and Rosemary too. What a legacy these three souls have - then and now. All sources can be found at doneanddone.com.Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon!Further ReadingKick Kennedy: The Charmed Life and Tragic Death of the Favorite Kennedy Daughter, by Barbara Leaming (Amazon link)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh my, darlings - this week, we investigate the first part of Kick Kennedy's life, all very much attached to her parents and siblings. Kick is a joy, and so much connected throughout all the things we have covered in the months of our investigation. This episode includes Kick and the Kennedy family through 1940, right up to World War II, where so much will change for this American dynasty. All sources can be found at doneanddone.com.Continue your investigation ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon!Read MoreKick Kennedy: The Charmed Life and Tragic Death of the Favorite Kennedy Daughter, by Barbara Leaming (Amazon) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we explore the life and legend of Maxine Elliott, builder and operator of the most hopping spot on the French Riviera for decades, the Chateau de l ’Horizon.A gathering spot for the famous and infamous, this home played host to many in its time – from political leaders to Hollywood stars to royalty. A few folks included in our cast this week: Lady Doris Castlerosse, Winston Churchill, Lady Diana Cooper, Daisy Fellowes, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Marlene Dietrich, Prince Aly Khan, the Kennedy family, and Elizabeth Taylor too!All sources can be found at doneanddone.com.Continue your investigation ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon!Listen to Eartha Kitt perform C'est Si Bon on YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we explore the life and legacy of Frances Ellen Work, another American Girl to make an incredible impact overseas. Frances has a pretty famous great-granddaughter, Diana, Princess of Wales. We explore the story of another Frances too - Diana's mother, Frances Shand Kydd. Lots of connections in this one, throughout the generations!All sources can be found at doneanddone.com.Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this last of our current trio of American Girls, we explore the life of Consuelo Vanderbilt - who has no choice but to marry into titled folks.All sources can be found at doneanddone.com.Continue your investigation ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon!Further Reading:The Glitter and the Gold, by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan (Amazon.com)The Husband Hunters: Social Climbing in London and New York, by Anne de Courcy (Amazon.com)To Marry an English Lord: Victorian and Edwardian Experience, by Gail MacColl and Carol Wallace (Amazon.com)The Transatlantic Marriage Bureau: Husband Hunting in the Gilded Age, by Julie Ferry (Amazon.com)‘Consuelo and Alva’: An Early Story of Celebrity (npr.org)The Bed Hopping Bride of Blenheim (dailymail.co.uk) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our story continues with the second of our three American Girls this week with the legendary Jennie Jerome, the very first one to marry into the British peerage.All sources and additional recommended reading can be found at doneanddone.com.Continue your investigation ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon!Further Reading:The Husband Hunters: Social Climbing in London and New York, by Anne de Courcy (Amazon.com)Million Dollar American Princesses, a Smithsonian Channel documentary series (Amazon.com)The Titled Americans: Three American Sisters and the British Aristocratic World into Which They Married, by Elisabeth Kehoe (Amazon.com)Jennie Churchill: Winston’s American Mother, by Anne Sebba (Amazon.com) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this first episode of this American Girls trio of episodes, we celebrate the life of Consuelo Yznaga, the first American Girl to marry a Duke, the highest rank in the British peerage. Consuelo makes her match to the Duke of Manchester, but it is for her transatlantic marriage brokerage talents that this duchess is far more remembered.All sources can be found at doneanddone.com.Continue your investigation ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon!Further Reading:The Husband Hunters: Social Climbing in London and New York, by Anne de Courcy (Amazon.com)The Transatlantic Marriage Bureau: Husband Hunting in the Gilded Age, by Julie Ferry (Amazon.com)To Marry an English Lord: Victorian and Edwardian Experience, by Gail MacColl and Carol Wallace (Amazon.com)Million Dollar American Princesses, a Smithsonian Channel documentary series (Amazon.com) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices