Earl Lewis and Heidi Ardizzone

Love on Trial

A modern Cinderella must defend her fairy-tale marriage in a scandal that rocked jazz-age America.

Upon marrying socialite Leonard Rhinelander in 1924, Alice Jones, a former nanny, became the first black woman to be listed in the Social Register as a member of one of New York's wealthiest families. The couple met in 1921, fell in love, and after a three-year relationship wed with hopes of living together quietly.

Any chance of quiet ended when a reporter for the New Rochelle Standard Star asked Leonard probing questions about his wife's background and race. Soon thereafter news of their marriage became a national scandal, and Alice and Leonard found themselves thrust into the glare of public scrutiny—and into a Westchester courtroom.

Earl Lewis and Heidi Ardizzone tell the story of the marriage and the annulment trial that opened the lives of two vastly different families to the media. Tracking the public obsession with the case, they unfold a fascinating story with a dramatic cast of characters.

During the trial a number of questions emerged: Would the jury believe Alice's claim that her husband had known she was of mixed racial ancestry before their marriage? Would Leonard's status sway the verdict? Had either taken advantage of the other? Would their premarital sexual relations taint Alice's character in the jury's eyes? How much ancestry made one black? Love on Trial recalls a struggle that raised questions about race and identity that continue to haunt us today.