{"product_id":"empty-mansions-the-mysterious-life-of-huguette-clark-and-the-spending-of-a-great-american-fortune-paperback","title":"Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eBill Dedman\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003ePaul Clark Newell\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e#1 \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eJanet Maslin, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times - St. Louis Post-Dispatch\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen Pulitzer Prize\u003ci\u003e-\u003c\/i\u003ewinning journalist Bill Dedman noticed in 2009 a grand home for sale, unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled through a surprising portal into American history. \u003ci\u003eEmpty Mansions\u003c\/i\u003e is a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting the Gilded Age opulence of the nineteenth century with a twenty-first-century battle over a $300 million inheritance. At its heart is a reclusive heiress named Huguette Clark, a woman so secretive that, at the time of her death at age 104, no new photograph of her had been seen in decades. Though she owned palatial homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, why had she lived for twenty years in a simple hospital room, despite being in excellent health? Why were her valuables being sold off? Was she in control of her fortune, or controlled by those managing her money? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Dedman has collaborated with Huguette Clark's cousin, Paul Clark Newell, Jr., one of the few relatives to have frequent conversations with her. Dedman and Newell tell a fairy tale in reverse: the bright, talented daughter, born into a family of extreme wealth and privilege, who secrets herself away from the outside world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Huguette was the daughter of self-made copper industrialist W. A. Clark, nearly as rich as Rockefeller in his day, a controversial senator, railroad builder, and founder of Las Vegas. She grew up in the largest house in New York City, a remarkable dwelling with 121 rooms for a family of four. She owned paintings by Degas and Renoir, a world-renowned Stradivarius violin, a vast collection of antique dolls. But wanting more than treasures, she devoted her wealth to buying gifts for friends and strangers alike, to quietly pursuing her own work as an artist, and to guarding the privacy she valued above all else. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The Clark family story spans nearly all of American history in three generations, from a log cabin in Pennsylvania to mining camps in the Montana gold rush, from backdoor politics in Washington to a distress call from an elegant Fifth Avenue apartment. The same Huguette who was touched by the terror attacks of 9\/11 held a ticket nine decades earlier for a first-class stateroom on the second voyage of the \u003ci\u003eTitanic\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eEmpty Mansions\u003c\/i\u003e reveals a complex portrait of the mysterious Huguette and her intimate circle. We meet her extravagant father, her publicity-shy mother, her star-crossed sister, her French boyfriend, her nurse who received more than $30 million in gifts, and the relatives fighting to inherit Huguette's copper fortune. Richly illustrated with more than seventy photographs, \u003ci\u003eEmpty Mansions\u003c\/i\u003e is an enthralling story of an eccentric of the highest order, a last jewel of the Gilded Age who lived life on her own terms.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBill Dedman\u003c\/b\u003e introduced the public to heiress Huguette Clark and her empty mansions through his compelling series of narratives for NBC, which became the most popular feature in the history of its news website, topping 110 million page views. He received the 1989 Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting while writing for \u003ci\u003eThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution\u003c\/i\u003e and has written for \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, The Washington Post, \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e The Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003ePaul Clark Newell, Jr.\u003c\/b\u003e, a cousin of Huguette Clark, has researched the Clark family history for twenty years, sharing many conversations with Huguette about her life and family. He received a rare private tour of Bellosguardo, her mysterious estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Santa Barbara.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 512\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.3 x 8 x 5.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 22, 2014\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52034127528237,"sku":"9780345534538","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/7rl-pinrj_9780345534538.webp?v=1777650627","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/empty-mansions-the-mysterious-life-of-huguette-clark-and-the-spending-of-a-great-american-fortune-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}