And American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home

Extremely boring. I have been to Biltmore Estate, at least 20 times. It is one of my favorite places to go. Thought this book would give some
fascinating insight into the mansion and it's owners, instead it's just ramblings on the Biltmore forestry mission, it is one of the
dullest books, I have ever read. No stories of glittering soirees, or fascinating asides of the owners. Apparently George and Edith
were as exciting as milquetoast. I'm still forcing myself to read it, hopefully it will pick up some steam.

I have traveled in the vicinity of this estate but I never realized just what it was all about.
This book provides all the details of the planning and construction of the Biltmore as well as the
subsequent history of the Vanderbilt Family. Very interesting book.

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. The setting here is Asheville, North Carolina, instead of the English countryside, but there are many similarities between the Earl of Grantham and George Vanderbilt, the man who built “the last castle.” As befitted those who belonged to the top echelons of society, both owned and managed enormous houses on huge tracts of land, with staff who were treated as extended family. Both had a social, if paternalistic, conscience about providing for those in their employ or on their grounds. And both fell on hard times during and after the wars, forcing them to economize in ways that once would have been unthinkable.

But, of course, Vanderbilt did not inherit his estate, Biltmore House; he built all 175,000 square feet of it on 125,000 acres of land in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This is the story of how the house came to be built and what that entailed --- not just for the 1,000 workers who constructed it over six years, but for the myriad townsfolk who lived in what came to be called the village of Biltmore. It’s also the story of George and Edith Vanderbilt, their families, friends and famous visitors --- who included everyone from Edith Wharton, Teddy Roosevelt and Henry James to John Singer Sargent and James Whistler, the latter two of whom were hired at George’s request. Sargent painted Richard Morris Hunt, Biltmore’s architect, and Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed the grounds. Whistler, a friend, painted Vanderbilt himself.

The story begins back in the 1880s, when George and his mother, Maria Louisa, visited Asheville in the hopes that the elder Mrs. Vanderbilt might recover from a bout of malaria; the mountain air was said to be good for one’s physical and mental health. George --- the grandson of the titan of shipping and railroads, Cornelius Vanderbilt --- fell in love with the area and decided to create an estate to rival those of Europe. Why he felt compelled is not entirely explained here, but that he did so with intentions of making a beautiful home with all the modern amenities, and with sensitivity toward how the land was used, is abundantly clear. In fact, much of the forest around Asheville had been overfarmed, and a concerted effort was made by George and his German groundsman, Carl Schenk, to replant the ground. Their efforts led to the first American School of Forrestry in the nation.

Almost half of the book details the building of Biltmore and its environs, and the saga of the estate is never far from the author’s sights. George’s marriage to Edith, and the birth of their only child, Cornelia, are noted, but details about the family usually revolve around their impact on the House. When George died, at the age of 51, Edith took over the running of the estate, and eventually sold much of the land, as well as Biltmore Estate Industries, which she had helped start to foster mountain crafts in Asheville. Edith went on to become president of the North Carolina Agricultural Society, and gained a reputation as a public speaker and civic-minded woman. She eventually married a senator from Rhode Island and helped get him reelected.

Meanwhile, Cornelia’s life was very different, and she spent much time away from Asheville, first in England and then in New York, where she became an artist. But her British husband, John Francis Amherst Cecil, and their two sons remained involved with the estate. When the moment arrived that the taxes and debts outweighed even the Vanderbilt fortune, the decision was made to open Biltmore House to the public. This is similar to what happened with many of the grand houses in England, and something with which Cecil and his circle were very familiar. To this day, the Vanderbilt family controls their house, now a National Historic Landmark that is visited by more than one million people annually.

THE LAST CASTLE is a paean to a grandiose house and family, so those who are looking for gossip or a social history of the era will find the book somewhat lacking. But it does what it sets out to do: recreate the grandeur of George Vanderbilt’s vision, and the price that those around him willingly paid to help keep it alive.

Reviewed by Lorraine W. Shanley

This is an entirely contrived history, less about the last Castle, and more about a branch of the Vanderbilt Clan that accomplished very little. If anything this story is an argument that a hearty estate tax that discourages the sloth that comes with inherited wealth actually makes sense. The author’s many detours off the Biltmore property to tangentially related historical moments, descriptions of fashion and people who were living at the time but never set foot on the Biltmore estate is annoying. There is no meaningful story in this book despite the author’s best efforts to contrive one. For a better story, check out Empty Mansions.

If you enjoy reading text books, then this may be the book for you. This is not a book of intrigue, mystery, plot/character development. Unfortunately, I was anticipating a story told with dialogue and movement. This is a factual book for those who enjoy the hard facts.

About five years ago, my husband and I visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, which was built by George W. Vanderbilt, II. Too bad that Denise Kiernan’s book, The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home wasn’t published at that time, or it would have increased our knowledge of Biltmore and George W. Vanderbilt. It would have also added to our appreciation of the estate.

The Last Castle covers several areas including a short history of the Vanderbilt family and how they made their money. Kiernan touches on the Gilded Age. And it is also the story of the romance between George W. Vanderbilt and his wife, Edith Dresser Vanderbilt. But the bulk of The Last Castle is about this incredible estate and how George came to create such a home in the mountains of North Carolina. The house is approximately 175,000 square feet and filled with beautiful furniture, artworks, and tapestries and surrounded by gardens, fountains, and forests. Vanderbilt also created Biltmore Village (for his workers) and supported the area in many ways including the building of a church and a hospital. The Last Castle is also the story about the end of the Gilded Age and the efforts of Vanderbilt’s heirs to save the house for posterity. This was no easy accomplishment—especially moving through the Depression and World War II.

I especially developed an appreciation for Edith Vanderbilt, and all that she did for Biltmore and the people in Asheville. Even after George’s death, Edith carried on his vision and contributed to his legacy. Kiernan writes that while George and Edith could have spent much of their time in social engagements, “Instead, these two people invested in the community with time as well as money, giving openly to the less fortunate, and in the process made an impact on the land and surrounding area that exists to this day…” Amazingly, Biltmore still remains in family hands.

After reading The Last Castle, my husband and I would like to return to Biltmore. It will allow us to look at this estate with more knowledgeable eyes.

The fundamental problem with The Last Castle is a surprising dearth of journal entries, diary entries, and letters written by George or Edith Vanderbilt, the two main characters behind Biltmore. Therefore, we have no intimate insight into the thoughts and feelings of George and Edith. Likewise, the breakup of their daughter's marriage, and her odd flight into eccentricity, comes without clues as to her motive. All of these characters remain remote figures to the reader. By its end, the book's fatal flaw causes The Last Castle to read more like a news article than history aspiring to the realm of novel.

This is a terrific subject, but unfortunately, it feels like you're looking at this history from a long distance away and never really get the opportunity to really get invested in the Vanderbilt or Biltmore story. We're a bit like the journalist who "seemed almost disappointed at the lack of acrimonious details surrounding the end of the Vanderbilt-Cecil union." Likewise, we're disappointed at the lack of insight into the lives of Edith and George Vanderbilt. Edith is always stately and composed. George remains a mystery as to why he would build such a mansion. Kiernan bemoans the difficulty in getting more details about the family since they often burned their letters. So while it's understandable that the lack of historical resources may make it harder to provide insight into the family, the lack of details about Biltmore itself is less understandable. There is a fair amount of detail provided about the construction of the house, but Biltmore fades from view as the book goes on. Details like the bachelor quarters, the swimming pool, the 43 toilets are perfunctorily dealt with, or not covered at all. Having only black and white photos of Biltmore doesn't help the reader bridge the gap of understanding more about life in such a mansion. The focus too often is only on what happened, not on why or why it's important. By the end of the book, it feels mostly like a recitation of facts and events.