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  • The Scandalous Hamiltons

  • A Gilded Age Grifter, a Founding Father's Disgraced Descendant, and a Trial at the Dawn of Tabloid Journalism
  • By: Bill Shaffer
  • Narrated by: David Colacci
  • Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (29 ratings)

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The Scandalous Hamiltons

By: Bill Shaffer
Narrated by: David Colacci
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Publisher's summary

It's a story almost too tawdry to be true—a con woman prostitute who met the descendant of a Founding Father in a brothel, duped him into marriage using an infant purchased from a baby farm, then went to prison for stabbing the couple's baby nurse—all while in a common-law marriage with another man. The scandal surrounding Evangeline and Robert Ray Hamilton, though little known today, was one of the sensations of the Gilded Age.

When the salacious Hamilton story emerged during Eva's trial for the August 1889 stabbing, it commanded unprecedented national and international newspaper coverage thanks to the telegraph and the recently founded Associated Press.

As lurid details emerged, the public's fascination grew—how did a man of Hamilton's stature become entangled with such an adventuress? Hamilton's death under mysterious circumstances, a year after the stabbing, added to the intrigue.

Through personal correspondence, court records, and sensational newspaper accounts, The Scandalous Hamiltons explores not only the full, riveting saga of ill-fated Ray and Eva, but the rise of tabloid journalism and celebrity in a story that is both a fascinating slice of pop culture history.

©2022 William R. Shaffer (P)2022 Tantor
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What listeners say about The Scandalous Hamiltons

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Excellent!!

Fascinating story. Well researched by the author. Also enjoyed the narration. Five stars all around.

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Scandal was never far from the Hamiltons

Robert Ray Hamilton, one of the great grandsons of Alexander Hamilton, one of the best known founding fathers of America, led a erratic life and died in a hunting accident far from the New York fame and fortune to which he was an heir. Bill Shaffer does a wonderful job reconstructing the life and times of Ray Hamilton from the archives of the daily newspapers, large and small, which served as the only source of national information in the Gilded Age of the U. S. More documentary the novel the book will be enjoyed by history buffs. #edcinpacomments

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1 person found this helpful