The Last Castle; The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home by Kiernan, Denise - 2017

New York: Touchstone, 2017. First Touchstone Hardcover Edition [stated]. Later printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. vii, [3], 388, [2] pages. Illustrated endpapers. Illustrations. Notes and Sources. Index. Denise Kiernan (born July 31, 1968) is an American journalist, producer and author who lives in Asheville, North Carolina. She has authored several history titles, including The Last Castle, Signing Their Lives Away, and The Girls of Atomic City. Kiernan started out in journalism, and as a freelance writer, her work appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Wall Street Journal, and Ms. Magazine amongst other publications. She served as the head writer for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire during its first season. She has produced pieces for ESPN and MSNBC. Additionally, she has authored several popular history titles and has ghost written books for athletes, entrepreneurs and actresses. Her book, The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II, traces the story of the women who worked on the Manhattan Project, unknowingly helping to create the fuel for the world's first atomic bomb. The Girls of Atomic City became a New York Times best seller in its first week of publication. The untold, true story behind the Biltmore Estate--the largest, grandest private residence in North America, which has seen more than 120 years of history. 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, Teddy Roosevelt, John Singer Sargent, James Whistler, and Edith Wharton. 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. He summoned Frederick Law Olmsted to tame the grounds, collaborated with architect Richard Morris Hunt to build a 175,000-square-foot chateau, filled it with art and antiques, and erected a charming village beyond the gates. Edith was 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 home and community, it was up to Edith to save Biltmore--and secure her husband's legacy.