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The Resource Empty mansions : the mysterious life of Huguette Clark and the spending of a great American fortune, Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr

Empty mansions : the mysterious life of Huguette Clark and the spending of a great American fortune, Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr

Creator
Contributor
Summary
"When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed a property listing for a grand estate that had been unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled into one of the most surprising American stories of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Empty Mansions is a rich tale of wealth and loss, complete with copper barons, Gilded Age opulence, and backdoor politics. At its heart is a reclusive 104-year-old heiress named Huguette Clark. Dedman has collaborated with Huguette's cousin, Paul Clark Newell, Jr., one of the few relatives to have had frequent conversations with her, to tell a fairy tale in reverse: the bright, talented daughter who is born into an almost royal family of amazing wealth and privilege, yet who secrets herself away from the outside world. Empty Mansions reveals a complete picture of the enigmatic Huguette Clark, heiress to one of the greatest fortunes in American history, a woman who had not been photographed in public since the 1920s. Though she owned three palatial homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, they sat vacant while she lived out her final two decades in a New York City hospital room, despite being in excellent health. Her father was self-made copper industrialist W. A. Clark, who at the dawn of the twentieth century was one of the richest men in America. Huguette's inheritance afforded her untold luxury: gorgeous paintings by Degas and Renoir, a world-renowned Stradivarius violin, a vast collection of antique dolls, lavish gifts for her friends, the freedom to pursue her own work as an artist, and, most important, the privacy she valued above all else. The Clark family story takes the reader nearly the entire span of American history in just three generations. The same Huguette who held a ticket for the return trip of the Titanic was touched by the terror attacks of 9/11. In this scrupulously detailed account, we meet Huguette's extravagant father, her publicity-shy mother, her star-crossed sister, her noble French boyfriend, the nurse who received more than $30 million in gifts, and the relatives seeking to inherit Huguette's $300 million fortune. Richly illustrated with more than seventy photographs, some never before seen, Empty Mansions is a touching story of an eccentric of the highest order, a last jewel of the Gilded Age who lived life on her own terms"--
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xxviii, 456 pages, 24 pages of plates
Contents
  • Family Tree
  • Introduction: House Hunting
  • An Apparition
  • Still life
  • The Clark Mansion, Part One
  • The Log Cabin
  • The Copper King Mansion
  • The U.S. Capitol
  • The Clark Mansion, Part Two
  • 907 Fifth Avenue, Part One
  • 907 Fifth Avenue, Part Two
  • Bellosguardo
  • Le Beau Château
  • Doctors Hospital
  • Beth Israel Medical Center
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
  • Surrogate's Courthouse
  • Epilogue: The Cricket
  • Authors' Note
  • List of Illustrations
  • Appendix: Siblings of W.A. Clark
  • Appendix: Inflation Adjustment
Isbn
9780345534521
Instance
Label
Empty mansions : the mysterious life of Huguette Clark and the spending of a great American fortune
Title
Empty mansions
Title remainder
the mysterious life of Huguette Clark and the spending of a great American fortune
Statement of responsibility
Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr
Creator
Contributor
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed a property listing for a grand estate that had been unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled into one of the most surprising American stories of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Empty Mansions is a rich tale of wealth and loss, complete with copper barons, Gilded Age opulence, and backdoor politics. At its heart is a reclusive 104-year-old heiress named Huguette Clark. Dedman has collaborated with Huguette's cousin, Paul Clark Newell, Jr., one of the few relatives to have had frequent conversations with her, to tell a fairy tale in reverse: the bright, talented daughter who is born into an almost royal family of amazing wealth and privilege, yet who secrets herself away from the outside world. Empty Mansions reveals a complete picture of the enigmatic Huguette Clark, heiress to one of the greatest fortunes in American history, a woman who had not been photographed in public since the 1920s. Though she owned three palatial homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, they sat vacant while she lived out her final two decades in a New York City hospital room, despite being in excellent health. Her father was self-made copper industrialist W. A. Clark, who at the dawn of the twentieth century was one of the richest men in America. Huguette's inheritance afforded her untold luxury: gorgeous paintings by Degas and Renoir, a world-renowned Stradivarius violin, a vast collection of antique dolls, lavish gifts for her friends, the freedom to pursue her own work as an artist, and, most important, the privacy she valued above all else. The Clark family story takes the reader nearly the entire span of American history in just three generations. The same Huguette who held a ticket for the return trip of the Titanic was touched by the terror attacks of 9/11. In this scrupulously detailed account, we meet Huguette's extravagant father, her publicity-shy mother, her star-crossed sister, her noble French boyfriend, the nurse who received more than $30 million in gifts, and the relatives seeking to inherit Huguette's $300 million fortune. Richly illustrated with more than seventy photographs, some never before seen, Empty Mansions is a touching story of an eccentric of the highest order, a last jewel of the Gilded Age who lived life on her own terms"--
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Biography type
individual biography
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Dedman, Bill
Dewey number
  • 328.73/092
  • B
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • genealogical tables
Index
index present
LC call number
CT275.C6273
LC item number
D33 2013
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
Newell, Paul Clark
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Clark, Huguette
  • Heiresses
  • Eccentrics and eccentricities
  • Recluses
  • Collectors and collecting
  • Clark, William Andrews
  • Clark, Huguette
  • Clark, Huguette
  • Mansions
  • BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Rich & Famous
  • HISTORY / United States / General
  • BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Entrepreneurship
Label
Empty mansions : the mysterious life of Huguette Clark and the spending of a great American fortune, Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references ([371]-429 pages) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Family Tree -- Introduction: House Hunting -- An Apparition -- Still life -- The Clark Mansion, Part One -- The Log Cabin -- The Copper King Mansion -- The U.S. Capitol -- The Clark Mansion, Part Two -- 907 Fifth Avenue, Part One -- 907 Fifth Avenue, Part Two -- Bellosguardo -- Le Beau Château -- Doctors Hospital -- Beth Israel Medical Center -- Woodlawn Cemetery -- Surrogate's Courthouse -- Epilogue: The Cricket -- Authors' Note -- List of Illustrations -- Appendix: Siblings of W.A. Clark -- Appendix: Inflation Adjustment
Control code
1440049
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xxviii, 456 pages, 24 pages of plates
Isbn
9780345534521
Isbn Type
(hardback : acid-free paper)
Lccn
2013023933
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations (some color), gen. tables
System control number
  • (Sirsi) 1440049
  • (OCoLC)837141775
Label
Empty mansions : the mysterious life of Huguette Clark and the spending of a great American fortune, Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references ([371]-429 pages) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Family Tree -- Introduction: House Hunting -- An Apparition -- Still life -- The Clark Mansion, Part One -- The Log Cabin -- The Copper King Mansion -- The U.S. Capitol -- The Clark Mansion, Part Two -- 907 Fifth Avenue, Part One -- 907 Fifth Avenue, Part Two -- Bellosguardo -- Le Beau Château -- Doctors Hospital -- Beth Israel Medical Center -- Woodlawn Cemetery -- Surrogate's Courthouse -- Epilogue: The Cricket -- Authors' Note -- List of Illustrations -- Appendix: Siblings of W.A. Clark -- Appendix: Inflation Adjustment
Control code
1440049
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xxviii, 456 pages, 24 pages of plates
Isbn
9780345534521
Isbn Type
(hardback : acid-free paper)
Lccn
2013023933
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations (some color), gen. tables
System control number
  • (Sirsi) 1440049
  • (OCoLC)837141775

Subject

Genre

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