Black and White and Read All Over

Description

Based on One of the Most Sensational Courtroom Dramas in American History

“GET IT.” – Kirkus Reviews

“An extraordinary work of historical fiction.” – Midwest Book Review

A secret marriage. A powerful family. A courtroom battle that forced one woman to defend her identity before an entire nation.

A Love Story That Changed History

When Alice Jones married Leonard Rhinelander, heir to one of New York’s wealthiest and most influential families, they believed love could overcome the barriers of race and class. Instead, their secret marriage ignited one of the most sensational scandals of the Jazz Age.

A Nation Watches

Under relentless pressure from his family, Leonard sought to annul the marriage, claiming he had been deceived. What followed became one of the most infamous courtroom battles of the 1920s. Newspapers chronicled every testimony. Crowds packed the courthouse. Private lives became public spectacle.

At the center of it all stood Alice Jones-a woman forced to defend not only her marriage, but her dignity, identity, and future before a nation eager to judge her. As the trial unfolded, questions of race, class, privilege, gender, and truth captivated America and continue to resonate today.

The Story Behind the Headlines

Drawing on trial transcripts, newspaper accounts, personal letters, and diary entries,

Black and White and Read All Over

reimagines the human story behind one of America’s most remarkable-and largely forgotten-legal dramas. Through Alice’s eyes, readers experience an unforgettable love story tested by forces far greater than either she or Leonard could control.

Perfect for Readers Who Enjoy

– Historical fiction based on true events

– Courtroom dramas and legal thrillers

– Jazz Age and Roaring Twenties history

– Stories exploring race, class, identity, and power

– Forgotten moments in American history brought vividly to life

In 1925, America couldn’t look away. Nearly a century later, neither will you.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Author: William Kinsolving
Published: 04/21/2026
Publisher: Pragmatic Press
ISBN: 9798995220114
Pages: 252
Weight: 1.09lbs
Size: 0.69″ H x 9.00″ L x 6.00″ W

About the Author
Kinsolving, William: – “After graduating from Stanford, William Kinsolving began his professional life onstage-first at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, playing Richard II – then studying at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Returning to New York, he acted under-, off-, and on Broadway and performed or directed at Stratford (CT), Harvard, Dartmouth, Café La Mama, and the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where he received the San Francisco Chronicle’s Best Actor of the Year award.He wrote his first play backstage, earning a Ford Foundation Playwriting Grant and a production by the Stratford Ontario Shakespeare Festival. That success led to decades of work as a screenwriter and script doctor for every major film studio in Los Angeles, London, and Rome-ultimately contributing to more than fifty films.Kinsolving later turned to fiction, publishing five novels, including a New York Times bestseller and multiple Literary Guild Main Selections. When traditional publishing contracted, he returned to playwriting, with new work presented in theatres across the country. His musical That Week with the Bachs premiered in 2023 at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral.Compelled by the tectonic shifts in America today, Kinsolving returned to another time in American history when its social and cultural foundations were rumbling: The Nineteen-Twenties, and a love story that led to a trial that perforated the facades of privilege, sex, race and wealth: Black and White and Read All Over.”