Once upon a time (1888, to be exact), a wealthy New York "prince" by the name of George Washington Vanderbilt—grandson of millionaire Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt—fell in love with the Blue Ridge Mountains. There, far from the social whirl of Gilded Age New York and Newport, the bookish young man decided to build his "country retreat." The result: the sumptuous 175,000-square-foot Biltmore, where George and his wife, Edith, would transform the economy, industry, and physical landscape of western North Carolina…and play host to such luminaries as Edith Wharton, Henry James, and Theodore Roosevelt. When George's untimely death forced Edith to take control of the vast estate—which supported thousands of villagers, farmers, artisans, and foresters—she rose spectacularly to the challenge. A fascinating multipart history of a family, a house, even our nation itself, The Last Castle will enchant you!