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Item specifics
- Condition
- ISBN
- 9781476794051
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Touchstone
ISBN-10
1476794057
ISBN-13
9781476794051
eBay Product ID (ePID)
239698443
Product Key Features
Book Title
Last Castle : the Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home
Number of Pages
416 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2018
Topic
Women, Rich & Famous, United States / State & Local / South (Al, Ar, Fl, Ga, Ky, La, ms, Nc, SC, Tn, VA, WV), Historical
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Biography & Autobiography, History
Format
Trade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height
1.4 in
Item Weight
13.9 Oz
Item Length
9 in
Item Width
6 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
2018-303404
TitleLeading
The
Reviews
If you inherited billions, how would you spend it? Don't bother building America's largest and most lavish home. It's already been done in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where more than a million visitors a year stroll the grounds of Biltmore Estate. Yet only in the pages of Denise Kiernan's The Last Castle will they come to know George Vanderbilt, the bookish heir who began Biltmore in his 20s, and his determined widow, Edith, who kept it alive as a working estate and a time capsule of the Gilded Age. In the pages of The Last Castle , Kiernan serves up a true tale of American excess, generosity, and perseverance., The many diverting detours Kiernan takes make the book enticing for even those who will never set foot on Biltmore grounds., A story that brings the glitz and glamour of the British royal family to American soil.... Reigning royalty of the Gilded Age, Edith and George Vanderbilt, and their lifetime of financial excess, ruins, scandal, and perseverance come alive on these pages.|9781476794051|, The Last Castle is a soaring and gorgeous American story that gripped me from the very first page. With a historian's keen insight and a poet's gift for language, Denise Kiernan depicts life at Biltmore with such skill, I felt like I was there through it all: weddings, divorces, elaborate (and slightly bizarre) balls, financial glory, financial ruin, murder, suicide, natural disasters, betrayals, love, loss, despair, and triumph. The story of George and Edith Vanderbilt's remarkable lives will stay with me for a long time to come., This is as much a story about the creation of Biltmore House as it is a window into what it was like to be an American at the turn of the 20th century. Kiernan makes Edith and George Vanderbilt, among the wealthiest Americans at the time, feel like living, breathing human beings navigating life's obstacles in this magnificent book. And she tells the story of how one fiercely devoted woman was able to save the home her husband loved., Evocative, meticulously researched. . . Kiernan brings a deft eye for detail and observation to a very different kind of story. . . . Her re-creation of Biltmore's origins hits like a flute of fine champagne while lending social context to the mansion. . . . 'The Last Castle' is Edith Wharton's 'The Age of Innocence sprung to life. . . . Biltmore is an ideal vessel for an exploration of our worship of affluence and social cachet, and more importantly, the American myth of classlessness. 'The Last Castle' plumbs these themes and history with subtle insight and élan. , The rich have secrets. In her well-researched and captivating book, Denise Kiernan tells the fascinating story of how a phenomenally wealthy Vanderbilt scion transformed a rural North Carolina town by building the ultimate rich man's folly and reveals the eccentricities, heartaches, and even money problems of these Social Register denizens and their friends and employees., "This is a timely and timeless American story of wealth and the responsibility and opportunity it carries. In Kiernan's hands, this mashup of Downton Abbey-like extravagance set amid the "rugged mountain simplicity" of Appalachia reads like a Southern fairy tale -- Brothers Grimm meets Gone with the Wind. A passionately researched family saga of death and divorce, suicide and sickness, fortunes gained and lost, spanning two world wars and set at the crux of the Gilded Age yielding to the modern era, The Last Castle is ultimately a story of fortitude and survival. A stunning and important achievement.", Evocative, meticulously researched. . . Kiernan brings a deft eye for detail and observation to a very different kind of story. . . . Her re-creation of Biltmore's origins hits like a flute of fine champagne while lending social context to the mansion. . . . 'The Last Castle' is Edith Wharton's 'The Age of Innocence sprung to life. . . . Biltmore is an ideal vessel for an exploration of our worship of affluence and social cachet, and more importantly, the American myth of classlessness. 'The Last Castle' plumbs these themes and history with subtle insight and lan. , Ms. Kiernan's research is prodigious....she brings the place to life. And she doesn't leave out the juicy bits from the family history: adultery, bankruptcy, suicide., But reading The Last Castle, the flowing novel-like narrative really is 'about America.' It's about celebrity culture, wealth disparity, the remarkable charity and foresight of a few wealthy people, the urge to create and maintain a family legacy and, in its darker moments, the ever-present potential for personal tragedy. It's grounded in Kiernan's years of globe-trotting research and yet also immediately relevant to the topics that clog social media in 2017., For those who couldn't get enough of 'Downton Abbey,' 'The Last Castle' might satisfy that desire to peer into the lives of wealthy members of the reigning elite., Kiernan evokes the grandeur of Biltmore House...the starring character in this fascinating look at the creation of the largest private home built in the United States., Denise Kiernan's book offers an entertaining and meticulously researched glimpse into faded grandeur.... The Last Castle will appeal to audiences who delighted in Downton Abbey and who look forward to its creator Julian Fellowes's new series--aptly titled The Gilded Age ., Intriguing . . . With plenty of famous characters sprinkled throughout, there is enough action and history to keep readers engaged and eager to turn the pages... Kiernan fans and those new to her work are sure to devour this latest volume., The book's vitality lies in the details [Kiernan] reveals about the architects, writers, artists and peers of the Vanderbilts who spent time at Biltmore.
Dewey Edition
23
Dewey Decimal
975.6/88
Synopsis
A New York Times bestseller with an "engaging narrative and array of detail" ( The Wall Street Journal ), the "intimate and sweeping" ( Raleigh News & Observer ) untold, true story behind the Biltmore Estate--the largest, grandest private residence in North America, which has seen more than 120 years of history pass by its front door. The story of Biltmore spans World Wars, the Jazz Age, the Depression, and generations of the famous Vanderbilt family, and features a captivating cast of real-life characters including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, Teddy Roosevelt, John Singer Sargent, James Whistler, Henry James, and Edith Wharton. Orphaned at a young age, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser claimed lineage from one of New York's best known families. She grew up in Newport and Paris, and her engagement and marriage to George Vanderbilt was one of the most watched events of Gilded Age society. But none of this prepared her to be mistress of Biltmore House. Before their marriage, the wealthy and bookish Vanderbilt had dedicated his life to creating a spectacular European-style estate on 125,000 acres of North Carolina wilderness. He summoned the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to tame the grounds, collaborated with celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt to build a 175,000-square-foot chateau, filled it with priceless art and antiques, and erected a charming village beyond the gates. Newlywed Edith was now mistress of an estate nearly three times the size of Washington, DC and benefactress of the village and surrounding rural area. When fortunes shifted and changing times threatened her family, her home, and her community, it was up to Edith to save Biltmore--and secure the future of the region and her husband's legacy. This is the fascinating, "soaring and gorgeous" (Karen Abbott) story of how the largest house in America flourished, faltered, and ultimately endured to this day.
LC Classification Number
F264.A8K54 2017
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- c***m (410)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseAAA+++; Excellent Service; Great Pricing; Fast Delivery-Faster Than Expected to Hawaii using free shipping USPS Ground Mail, Received 06/18; Paperback book in Great Condition as Described ; TLC Packaging; Excellent Seller Communication, Sends updates . Highly Recommended!, Thank you very much!
- l***1 (1486)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseGreat seller; book exactly as described in mint condition sold at a reasonable price; seller shipped item FAST, FREE and with tracking information, a must nowadays; seller shipped in tight, cardboard mailing envelope, which tightly fit over the book, preventing damage in shipment; good communication too; rate seller 10+++++Cuentos de La Habana Elegante, Brand New, Free shipping in the US (#364594098367)
- c***t (921)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseThe book I bought was reasonably priced and when it arrived it was in the 'Like New' condition specified in the listing. However, when I saw that the seller had not shipped the book after more than 15 days had passed since my order I felt I must write to say that I had actually placed an order with the seller and inquire when it planned to send the book. The brusque reply was that a tracking number was available, but no number HAD been created until I pointed out that I had placed the order.Catland by Hughes, Kathryn, Like New Used, Free shipping in the US (#356798982438)
Product ratings and reviews
Most relevant reviews
- 17 Feb, 2023
The building of the Biltmore
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: 88books
- 24 Nov, 2020
Would recommend
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: ellenpow
- 01 Feb, 2022
Great read!
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: second.sale
- 06 Jun, 2018
Great read!
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: tetracore1
- 10 Sep, 2019
Boring
Verified purchase: YesCondition: NewSold by: as-you-wish-apothecary
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Seller Feedback (385,131)
- c***m (410)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseAAA+++; Excellent Service; Great Pricing; Fast Delivery-Faster Than Expected to Hawaii using free shipping USPS Ground Mail, Received 06/18; Paperback book in Great Condition as Described ; TLC Packaging; Excellent Seller Communication, Sends updates . Highly Recommended!, Thank you very much!
- l***1 (1486)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseGreat seller; book exactly as described in mint condition sold at a reasonable price; seller shipped item FAST, FREE and with tracking information, a must nowadays; seller shipped in tight, cardboard mailing envelope, which tightly fit over the book, preventing damage in shipment; good communication too; rate seller 10+++++Cuentos de La Habana Elegante, Brand New, Free shipping in the US (#364594098367)
- c***t (921)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseThe book I bought was reasonably priced and when it arrived it was in the 'Like New' condition specified in the listing. However, when I saw that the seller had not shipped the book after more than 15 days had passed since my order I felt I must write to say that I had actually placed an order with the seller and inquire when it planned to send the book. The brusque reply was that a tracking number was available, but no number HAD been created until I pointed out that I had placed the order.Catland by Hughes, Kathryn, Like New Used, Free shipping in the US (#356798982438)