≫ Libro Gratis Empty Mansions The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune Bill Dedman Paul Clark Newell Jr 8601300234274 Books

Empty Mansions The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune Bill Dedman Paul Clark Newell Jr 8601300234274 Books

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Empty Mansions The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune Bill Dedman Paul Clark Newell Jr 8601300234274 Books

What I loved most about Empty Mansions was the history. As interesting & puzzling as it may be to have an elderly lady happily living in a hospital by choice, the history of the family, trying to imagine owning paintings by artists from whom you almost exclusively, see reproductions, is a world unto itself.

Then there was Huguette. What I found sad was the way the hospital hit her up for cash, yet made fun of her eccentricity. By all accounts, she was a kind person. She may have been eccentric, yet she did not abuse anyone who came in to contact with her, and by all accounts, she did provide for those she cared about.

Empty Mansions does raise questions on ethics, whether it be the lawyer, accountant, the hospital... Even her own relatives who challenged her will. I was glad to see an investigation to determine whether elder abuse had occurred—under the circumstances, it makes complete sense. That said, I was angered by the greed of her family... If one can use that term at all.

In the end, while we never receive concrete answers about how/why Ms. Clark was so isolated, it's almost beside the point. Perhaps most fascinating is this one woman outliving her family by an extraordinary number of years. At nearly 105 at the time of her death, she saw more of history than most people. While I'd have loved to see a diary or journal of some kind to possibly understand Huguette's mindset, as an artist myself, the mystery is also part of the beauty. Nothing is necessarily clean & wrapped in a bow. We can choose to interpret the words on the page in multiple ways. I can't help but imagine that although her privacy was violated following her death, in the end, her story is that of an artist, through & through. Much is still left to the imagination, a world we may create. Perhaps that is the true gift the authors deliver to the readers, as well as Huguette in the end.


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Empty Mansions The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune Bill Dedman Paul Clark Newell Jr 8601300234274 Books Reviews

As a Montanan I found this a wonderful and enlightening read. Here in our state we have copious amounts of the historical doings of the Copper Kings as well as the physical remnants of that time. However there is little that tells us of their posterity and surely Hugette Clark is among the most interesting. As I walk the streets of Butte I will remember "Hug". Columbia Gardens is only a memory, unfortunately but the mine heads still stand to remind us of the days when copper made kings. If you have never visited Butte/Anaconda area, you should put it on your bucket list. But go after boning up on the history. It was one of the most fascinating periods in Montana history. The city has been named as a historical site. And there is much to explore. This book was well researched and well written and should be part of your 're-visit research.
EMPTY MANSIONS will surely climb the best-seller list. The book about Huguette Clark, heir to an enormous fortune and mistress of several large, poetically empty properties, is easy to fall into and harder to remove oneself from. Although not an especially interesting person, Huguette is fascinating on the written page mostly for what she didn't do in life, rather than what she did. Usually biographies that hold readers captive are about creative, adventurous, and avant-garde individuals doing unusual activities and living fascinating lives. Huguette doesn't fall into those categories. Instead, she is a shy, retiring individual who withdrew from the world upon the death of her mother with whom she had a close relationship.

EMPTY MANSIONS is several stories in one. The first is that of Huguette's father, the ambitious W.A. Clark, who took himself on a classic American adventure from nothing to extreme wealth. His story is also the story of the American West, of the mining industry, and railroads. Once comfortable financially, Clark displayed his wealth in rather ostentatious manners such as the building of the Clark mansion in New York City, an intriguing but rather short-lived folly.

The second story within the book is really the story of Huguette's mother, Anna. As W.A. Clark's second wife, she bore him two children, but never had the status or respect in society that she may have desired. Anna seemingly lived for her daughters and when the elder one, Andree, died, she and Huguette became inseparable. During this period, however, the two did make use of their wealth through traveling, collecting art, and buying and furnishing houses. For those interested in symbiotic relationships between mothers and daughters, EMPTY MANSIONS will definitely provide interesting, thought provoking reading. For readers who liked THE SECRET LIFE OF THE LONELY DOLL by Jean Nathan, the story of author Dare Wright and her mother, Huguette's life might prove similarly intriguing; the difference, of course, being that Dare Wright was creative while Huguette was . . . .well, Huguette.

The third story in EMPTY MANSIONS is the story of the hard-to-understand Huguette and an outline of the last twenty years of her life. Suffering from skin cancer, she hid inside her grand New York apartment and put off going to the doctor's. When she finally called for one, she was admitted to the hospital and then, most curiously, never left. At the time she entered the hospital, Huguette had two very large New York apartments, a huge mansion on the coast of California, and a spacious country estate in Connecticut. There was plenty of money for Huguette to live as she pleased or to donate to charities she deemed worthy. After having her cancer treated and being proclaimed healthy, Huguette chose to remain in the hospital and live there for two decades until she died at age 104. The last section of EMPTY MANSIONS changes in tone a bit as the reader is thrust into the present day and reads about court cases still going on in 2013. All of the sensational newspaper headlines of the past few years telling the story of Huguette Clark flash by, page after page, as the reader puzzles over the ethics of doctors and nurses accepting large monetary presents from their patient and of accountants and lawyers whose roles in Huguette's affairs may have been questionable.

But above all, whatever else EMPTY MANSIONS is about, it leaves the reader pondering whether Huguette was merely sheltered and shy or whether she was emotionally immature or suffered from a mental illness. It does appear that her life would have been quite different if her mother had lived longer, if her sister hadn't died, or if she had a mother figure in her life to guide and direct her. As it turns out, her nurse, Hadassah Peri, may have emerged as just that figure. All that makes the story of Huguette and her money a most captivating read.

EMPTY MANSIONS is the perfect book for a long weekend at the seashore in the rain, for a few days snowbound in the mountains in a snug, warm cabin in winter, or for taking along on a cruise. No one will regret reading EMPTY MANSIONS as there is something to be learned about American history, wealth, and yes - about loneliness.
This book is well researched and spans the lives of W. A. Clark, his second wife, Anna, and their surviving daughter Huguette. It is an inside look at the making and spending of an inconceivable fortune. It is also introduces the reader to the fairy-like, in many ways, Huguette who lived her life as she chose to live it.
Yes, she was very generous to those she cared about, and to some charitable causes. However, she could have done so much, to better the world, with the millions she gave to her private nurse, doctors who were, IMO, taking advantage of Huguette's fears, and eccentricities.
At the end of reading, I don't feel sad for Huguette. She isolated herself so that she didn't have to deal with anything that might make her feel uncomfortable or sad. She only wanted to think about things that were beautiful, things that made her happy to do. In that sense, she seemed selfish and immature.
I think that Huguette Clark's life disproves the adage that, "Money can't buy happiness." I believe that she was absolutely content with the restricted world she created, no matter how stunted it was. I did not find myself admiring Huguette, despite her generosity to those with whom she was loyal.
What I loved most about Empty Mansions was the history. As interesting & puzzling as it may be to have an elderly lady happily living in a hospital by choice, the history of the family, trying to imagine owning paintings by artists from whom you almost exclusively, see reproductions, is a world unto itself.

Then there was Huguette. What I found sad was the way the hospital hit her up for cash, yet made fun of her eccentricity. By all accounts, she was a kind person. She may have been eccentric, yet she did not abuse anyone who came in to contact with her, and by all accounts, she did provide for those she cared about.

Empty Mansions does raise questions on ethics, whether it be the lawyer, accountant, the hospital... Even her own relatives who challenged her will. I was glad to see an investigation to determine whether elder abuse had occurred—under the circumstances, it makes complete sense. That said, I was angered by the greed of her family... If one can use that term at all.

In the end, while we never receive concrete answers about how/why Ms. Clark was so isolated, it's almost beside the point. Perhaps most fascinating is this one woman outliving her family by an extraordinary number of years. At nearly 105 at the time of her death, she saw more of history than most people. While I'd have loved to see a diary or journal of some kind to possibly understand Huguette's mindset, as an artist myself, the mystery is also part of the beauty. Nothing is necessarily clean & wrapped in a bow. We can choose to interpret the words on the page in multiple ways. I can't help but imagine that although her privacy was violated following her death, in the end, her story is that of an artist, through & through. Much is still left to the imagination, a world we may create. Perhaps that is the true gift the authors deliver to the readers, as well as Huguette in the end.