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Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Estate Became an American Icon
 
 
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Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Estate Became an American Icon [Hardcover]

Howard E. Covington Jr. (Author), The Biltmore Company (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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Book Description

0471758183 978-0471758181 March 10, 2006 1
"What William Cecil has accomplished at Biltmore Estate is one of the great preservation success stories of all time. He has set a high standard for what all historic house museums strive for: magnificently preserved buildings and grounds, engaging interpretation, and--perhaps most challenging of all--economic self-sufficiency. It is no surprise that Biltmore Estate is widely recognized as one of America's finest places to visit."
--Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

"Biltmore is a glorious national historic landmark that, through creative vision and entrepreneurial management, preserves and provides insight into a way of life in the early 1900s. Bill is the imaginative and multifaceted leader who has built this great monument to enrich his community. George and I admire his dedication and success."
--George and Abby Rockefeller O'Neill

"Bill Cecil and his team at Biltmore Estate have sure proved that they know how to build a successful business. They did it the old-fashioned way: embrace a bold idea that others said could not be done and--through commitment, determination, and hard work--bring it to life. Their achievement against the odds is inspiring, and their vision and perseverance are valuable lessons to us all."
--Don Logan, Chairman, Media & Communications Group, Time Warner

"If George Vanderbilt did nothing more than engage the two most prominent and storied designers of their time, architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, to carry out his vision of a European estate in the southern Appalachians, he would have created an American icon. The beauty of the method by which the estate was executed and, even today, the meticulous attention to detail, in the presentation and care of the estate by William Cecil, have brought history to life."
--Gary J. Walters, Chief Usher, The White House

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set amid thousands of lushly landscaped acres in the North Carolina mountains, the Biltmore estate is a 250-room Gilded Age mansion stuffed to the rafters with objets d'art. Writing a very authorized business history rather than an architectural appreciation, journalist Covington celebrates the estate's transformation from quasifeudal folly to lucrative tourist mecca. Built in 1895 by George Vanderbilt, who played lord of the manor to hundreds of tenant farmers and servants, the estate passed in the 1960s to his grandson William Cecil, whose tight-fisted budgets, canny marketing initiatives and rapt attention to customer service turned it into a profitable museum of robber-baron privilege, selling more tickets than Colonial Williamsburg. The author's sycophantic account of this not unduly exciting saga is mainly a tribute to Cecil, who wrote the afterword. Covington defends the Biltmore owner's model of private, for-profit historical preservation against charges of commercialism leveled by nonprofit preservationists, repeats his complaints about inheritance taxes, extols his entrepreneurial daring, salutes his Biltmore restoration projects ("surpassed what many had seen anywhere") and raves about "customer satisfaction reports... comparable to those enjoyed by a five-star resort." This anodyne hospitality-industry success story will find a place in the Biltmore gift shop, but probably nowhere else. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Set amid thousands of lushly landscaped acres in the North Carolina mountains, the Biltmore estate is a 250-room Gilded Age mansion stuffed to the rafters with objets d'art. Writing a very authorized business history rather than an architectural appreciation, journalist Covington celebrates the estate's transformation from quasifeudal folly to lucrative tourist mecca. Built in 1895 by George Vanderbilt, who played lord of the manor to hundreds of tenant farmers and servants, the estate passed in the 1960s to his grandson William Cecil, whose tight-fisted budgets, canny marketing initiatives and rapt attention to customer service turned it into a profitable museum of robber-baron privilege, selling more tickets than Colonial Williamsburg. The author's sycophantic account of this not unduly exciting saga is mainly a tribute to Cecil, who wrote the afterword. Covington defends the Biltmore owner's model of private, for-profit historical preservation against charges of commercialism leveled by nonprofit preservationists, repeats his complaints about inheritance taxes, extols his entrepreneurial daring, salutes his Biltmore restoration projects ("surpassed what many had seen anywhere") and raves about "customer satisfaction reports... comparable to those enjoyed by a five-star resort." This anodyne hospitality-industry success story will find a place in the Biltmore gift shop, but probably nowhere else. (Mar.) (Publishers Weekly, January 2, 2006)

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 10, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0471758183
  • ISBN-13: 978-0471758181
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Private Restoration, March 30, 2006
This review is from: Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Estate Became an American Icon (Hardcover)
The real surprise about Biltmore is not that it was built, the rich-rich back in those days had lots money to spend on things like this. Instead it is that Biltmore has been brought back from being a somewhat shabby Grand Dame back into splender. Over the decades it was restored and brought up to date, but even more important it, and its surrounding were turned into a profitable enterprise that shows that all these old houses do not have to be turned over to the government to survive.

The estate incorporates some 12,000 acres near Asheville NC. In the late 1950's the smart money advisors recommended that it be sold off for a suburban housing development. Instead George Vanderbilt's grandson William Cecil began the project that lasted for forty years to bring the estate back.

It now produces wine and visitors to the area. He has become as or perhaps even more popular destination than Monticello, Mount Vernon or Colonial Williamsburg.

This is the story of how Mr. Cecil made the whole thing happen.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Lady on the Hill, July 11, 2007
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This review is from: Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Estate Became an American Icon (Hardcover)
I've read and studied regarding the lives of the Vanderbilt families and the Biltmore inparticular. This is truly one of the BEST books I've read. We've all learned about the house and George Vanderbilt's ideas and thinking on building Biltmore. This book describes the life of his wife Edith and their daughter Cornelia after his death and what they had to go through to keep Biltmore after his death. The research is absolutely amazing. For anyone who is interested or obsessed with The Biltmore, this is a MUST read.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Biltmore Since George Died, March 8, 2007
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Kay E. Nelson (Hendersonville, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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This review is from: Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Estate Became an American Icon (Hardcover)
This book is intriguing for those who enjoy nonfiction. It describes how Biltmore formed a business to keep from being sold and subdivided, what happened to the family members since George's death, and the relationship between Biltmore and the city of Asheville, among other things. It is extremely interesting if you would like to know more about the history of the estate and its families.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The evening was clear and cool, and the pale hues of the late September sunset hinted at the glorious display of mountain color soon to arrive. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
other historic properties, private preservation, interview with author, historic house museums
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North Carolina, United States, William Cecil, George Vanderbilt, Biltmore Company, New York, Colonial Williamsburg, Biltmore Forest, National Trust, Lodge Gate, Biltmore Estate, Palm Beach, French Broad, Edith Gerry, World War, All Souls, Junius Adams, Gilded Age, Richard Morris Hunt, Edith Vanderbilt, Mount Vernon, Approach Road, Bass Pond, Buck Spring Lodge, Chauncey Beadle
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