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

by Howard E. Covington Jr.

Book Overview

"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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471758183
• ISBN13: 9780471758181
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic Book, full of details

If you have ever been to Biltmore, this is a must read. It makes the house more a home. Less a museum. You will understand the hardships to make this such a wonderful US "must see".

Beautiful

We grew up visiting The Biltmore and this book is very acurate. The details, pictures and biography of this home is outstanding! Makes me want to go back again to see things we have missed!

Lady On the Hill

Lady on the Hill is a fantastic book. Anyone that is interested in historic preservation will find it enjoyable. People that have been to, or plan to go to Biltmore Estate should definitly read it. The history of the Vanderbilt and Cecil family to maintain the property as a private residence is amazing. I have been to Biltmore several times and had no idea that almost from its completion "how to maintain it" has been a question, and at times a problem. The book is an interesting glimpse into one family's creative endeavors to maintain a family home and in the process create an entire tourist industry.

Lady on the Hill

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.

An Amazing Private Restoration

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.