SKU: 9807028610

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune

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Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Janet Maslin, The New York Times St. Louis Post Dispatch When Pulitzer Prize winning 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. Empty Mansions is a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting the Gilded Age opulence of the nineteenth century with a twenty first

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
Janet Maslin, The New York Times - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

When Pulitzer Prize-winning 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. Empty Mansions 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?

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.

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.

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 Titanic.

Empty Mansions 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, Empty Mansions 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.

Praise for Empty Mansions

"An amazing story of profligate wealth . . . an outsized tale of rags-to-riches prosperity."--The New York Times

"An evocative and rollicking read, part social history, part hothouse mystery, part grand guignol."--The Daily Beast

"Fascinating . . . a] haunting true-life tale."--People

"One of those incredible stories that you didn't even know existed. It filled a void."--Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

"Thrilling . . . deliciously scandalous."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)


Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 09/10/2013
ISBN: 9780345534521
Pages: 456
Weight: 1.80lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.60w x 1.30d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2013
Booklist 09/01/2013 pg. 20
Library Journal 09/15/2013 pg. 79
Publishers Weekly 09/16/2013
People Weekly 11/04/2013 pg. 53
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SKU: 9807028610

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Sara S.
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 3
Over heated
Color: Yellow & Spot Flood Combo, Color: Yellow & Spot Flood Combo
Over heated after only a few uses. Other wise great
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Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2024
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Amazon Customer
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
These are BRIGHT
Color: Yellow & Spot Flood Combo, Color: Yellow & Spot Flood Combo
These are dang BRIGHT! Let’s see how they hold up over time. Using them as Ditch/Spot lights and are great. I had to buy some spade connectors to complete the install but other than that it’s easy to complete the install. I had some brackets from another company to complete my install so the fit looks great.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2022
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luisfrischw
Draper, US
★★★★★ 4
Easty to install, amazing brightness, not gret quality....
Color: Yellow & Spot Flood Combo, Color: Yellow & Spot Flood Combo
**Update** Changed from 3 to 4 stars I contacted the seller in regards to the deffective light. They were amazing and sent a replacement immediately. Great communication and customer service, so far so good, if it happens again I will update the review. ___________________________________________________ I loved these lights; they were super easy to install and had great brightness; unfortunately, after 6 months, water started to get inside, and now they don't work anymore; it's a shame... I sent an email to customer service, and I'm still waiting for their response. If anything I'll update this review. If it wasn't for that, I would have given them 5 stars.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2023
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Amazon_Customer
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
CAN be used for simple Home Theater but really shines when playing music.
Style: R-S202BL, Configuration: receiver only
First: YES, you can use this as an AV receiver *IF* you have a simple home theater setup and are willing and know how to run a digital to analog audio converter from your TV to the inputs of the receiver. BestBuy sells an inexpensive and intuitive unit. HOWEVER, if you have several devices associated with your home theater (i.e. more than 2 -- then this probably isn't a great option for you). I generally prefer Vintage Stereo equipment -- My ideal receiver was the Yamaha CR-2020. But sadly, those are hard to come by and have are more expensive and like a used car -- you don't really know what maintenance you have ahead of you. I had inherited a Sony AV receiver that pre-dated HDMI. It worked and I could even program my Logitech remotes with it. However, it really didn't bring the best sound out of my speakers -- a pair of original Large Advents. Plus, it seemed like it was starting to give up the proverbial ghost. My AV setup is pretty simple since I dumped Time Warner -- or whatever they are calling themselves these days. I have a TV, Roku Streaming stick and that's it! I don't have a living room that would accommodate 20 speakers and a sub without tripping over them (my cats and dog and kids shoes provide enough of an obstacle field). The downside -- this isn't really intended to be an AV receiver. No Optical Audio in... no HDMI ports... you have to make it work if you want to use it for your TV as well. I purchased an Insignia Digital to Analog Audio converter -- you plug in the HDMI cable from your TV into the input and use RCA cables as the output to plug into the receiver. This little gizmo was about 25 bucks so I was still saving quite a bit of money over "full-featured" AV receivers. The sound for the TV is fine -- You aren't going to be fooled into thinking you are in an IMax theater or anything. But that wasn't my primary concern. I really wanted my music to sound great. And playing music is where this receiver really shines! I *REALLY* like the Bluetooh connectivity so that I can play from my computer, cell phone without having to use a patch cable to plug into the receiver. It has a very simple interface -- mainly because there just isn't that much functionality. push a few buttons and you'll be able to figure it out without a manual. I know several reviewers have commented on the flimsy clips for the speaker wire but I have some fairly heavy gauge wire and it doesn't works just fine. I don't use banana plus -- just run the copper straight in. Once you get it set up, you shouldn't have a problem -- it isn't like you are constantly re-wiring your speakers. I was able to purchase this for less than 120 bucks and it drives my vintage Large Advents really well. It provides a beautiful full sound for a wide variety of musical genres. Maybe one of these days, I'll stumble across another great vintage receiver. But for the money and the convenience of a remote and bluetooth, this receiver can't be beat. [NECAR}
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Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2018
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Count Pitoffy
Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 5
No Nonsense
Style: R-S202BL, Configuration: receiver only
I love this unit! No buzzers and bells, just high quality, hi-fidelity audio. Very easy installation and easy to use remote. Display is not cluttered with unnecessary information. It's sleek appearance make it an awesome unit for any indoor application.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2026

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