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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 (Author), The Biltmore Company (Author)
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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)
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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
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Amazon.com: 4.4 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Private Restoration, Mar 30 2006
By John Matlock "Gunny" - Published on Amazon.com
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.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Lady on the Hill, July 11 2007
By Mary Meyers - Published on Amazon.com
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.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Biltmore Since George Died, Mar 8 2007
By Kay E. Nelson - Published on Amazon.com
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.
› Go to Amazon.com to see all 24 reviews  4.4 out of 5 stars 

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