The Last Castle by Denise Kiernan
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.
Denise Kiernan is an author, journalist, and producer who has worked as a writer for more than 20 years. Her last two books--The Last Castle and The Girls of Atomic City--were instant New York Times bestsellers in both hardcover and paperback. The Last Castle was a Wall Street Journal bestseller, a finalist for the 2018 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award, and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. The Girls of Atomic City was a Los Angeles Times and NPR bestseller, named one of Amazon's Top 100 Best Books of 2013, and has been published in multiple languages. Kiernan has been a featured guest on many radio and television shows, including NPR's Weekend Edition, PBS NewsHour, MSNBC's Morning Joe, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781476794044 |
| ISBN 10 | 1476794049 |
| Title | The Last Castle |
| Author | Denise Kiernan |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Atria Books |
| Year published | 2017-09-26 |
| Number of pages | 400 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |