Customer Reviews

Boldt Castle: In Search of the Lost Story

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Written with precise research and personal flair by Paul Malo (architectural historian and professor emeritus at Syracuse University), Boldt Castle: In Search Of The Lost Story contains the history of its title's namesake, which is a castle on the border of New York State and the Canadian province of Ontario. The magnificent mansion of Boldt Castle attracts millions of visitors from both sides of the international border, and its tragic history, including the premature death of Luisa Boldt, is the source of a wealth of folklore. Boldt Castle: In Search Of The Lost Story contains numerous interviews with Boldt family members and associates, creating an excellent primary reference to the history of this fascinating architectural structure.

Boldt Castle, on Heart Island, might be one of the most romantic places in America. The public has been spoon fed the 'romantic' legend of the Boldts for far too many years. Professor Malo did his research. He spent time among the people who remember the Boldts. This book may not disprove the romantic legend, but it certainly puts a new slant on the story. Like Professor Malo, I much preferred the Island and the legend before the Bridge Authority got hold of the property and began to restore it - with, as Professor Malo points out, historical inaccuracy.

If you've every been to Boldt Castle, read this book. It will open your eyes, and remind you not to believe *everything* you hear.

George Boldt, a German immigrant, became wealthy in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He bought Hart Island on the St. Lawerance River (as well as other places), changed the name to Heart Island, and had some wonderful buildings constructed. The largest, the Boldt Castle, was never completed. The story goes that, on the day George Boldt's wife died, workers laid down their tools and left the island castle incomplete.

There are rumors as to why the Castle sat in near ruin after being abandoned. Did Boldt's wife, Louise, run off with another man? Or did she really die? If so, why the vagueness around her death? This story mixes what some might call the American Dream with an American Tragedy.

Malo explores George Boldt's history in hopes of finding answers to why the Boldt's abandoned the Castle.

So much information was provided and the pictures were delightful. The entire book really satisfied my thirst for additional information about Boldt Castle.
A great read from start to finish!

Having visted Boldt castle numrous times over the past 30 years, I was all ways disappointed that there was never any new information about the Boldt's and there lives. The story that was presented never changed from the "canned" love story. After reading Boldt Castle: In Search of the Lost Story I was still disappointed as ther really wasn't that much new material. The book raised questions about the standard "canned " story but never really disproved it. In the end the story of Boldt castle and George and Louise is a tragic love story.

This is the story of another deluded megalomaniac from the era of rampant American industrialization who went insane and bankrupt because he was building another great castle as a shrine to his fat ego.

George Boldt was a ruthless exploiter and profiteer but the story is sold as "a castle built for love" and a "love tragedy". The story has all been cleaned up because the park wants to make money on naive tourists who flock to the island (its attendance was at approximately 1,950,000 visitors per year).

After the death of his wife Louise, workers stopped. The prevailing story is that George halted construction because he was so grief stricken over the loss of his precious wife, in actuality George Boldt went bankrupt because his wife was in charge of the building and he picked up a new lover after and his wife's death.