Summary of Bill Dedman & Paul Clark Newell Jr.'s Empty Mansions

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 Huguette and Andrée, the daughters of multimillionaire W. A. Clark, were immigrants to America in 1910. They had sailed from Cherbourg, France, in first-class cabins on the White Star liner Teutonic. They were being educated by private tutors and governesses, with lessons in three languages: English, Spanish, and French.

#2 The house was completed in 1911, and was called the most expensive and beautiful private residence in America. It was a fairy-tale castle come to life, with secret entrances, mysterious sources of music, and treasures collected from all over the world.

#3 W. A. supervised every detail of the house, from the furniture to the car rotunda. He also bought the stone-dressing plant, marble factory, and woodwork factory. The plans were modified to include an automobile room after Ransom Olds began selling his Curved Dash Oldsmobile in 1901.

#4 The Clark house was very expensive to build, and it cost more than two years' profits from the United Verde copper mine in Arizona. W. A. was able to get the courts to lower his property tax bill by valuing the home at only $3. 5 million.