The Scandalous Hamiltons by Bill Shaffer

 This nonfiction book tells of the rise of tabloid journalism in the Gilded Age and what a story occurred!  Robert Ray Hamilton was the descendant of Alexander Hamilton.  He met Eva Steele in a brothel and fell in love with her although he only expected it to be a dalliance.  Instead, Eva duped him into marriage by, after a trip to Europe he paid for her to take, she presented him with an infant daughter and insisted it was his.  In reality, she had bought the baby for $10 in the black market and it was the third baby she bought, the first two having died due to starvation.  Ray married her but filed for divorce when Eva was arrested for stabbing the baby's nurse.  

The tabloid newspapers couldn't get enough of the story and when it emerged that Eva had been in a common law marriage at the time she married Ray, it just fueled the fires.  Eva was sent to jail and Ray went out west to Montana where a friend was opening a hunting resort.  Unfortunately, he fell into a river while out hunting alone and died but that didn't stop Eva.  

Although she was left out of Ray's will expressly, she filed court cases for many years, alleging that the divorce was faulty, that she was entitled to a dowager's portion of the estate and many other cases.  She was even interviewed by Nellie Bly the darling of tabloid journalism.  Ray and Eva were only acquainted for four years but their story hit the headlines for many, many more.

Bill Shaffer worked in design for over thirty years when he decided to change his career.  He became interested in history and while researching the design of various buildings in New York, he became award of the Hamilton scandal and decided that the story of this couple and the rise of tabloid journalism would be his first project.  His coverage of the story is clear and exhaustive and accomplished his aim.  Readers will also learn about various other subjects occurring at the same time, such as the exploration and settlement of the West, trials, the veneration of the wealthy, etc.  I listened to this book and the narrator was excellent.  This book is recommended for those interested in history and the Gilded Age.