Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune
Bill Dedman
& Paul Clark Newell, Jr.
Category: Nonfiction:
Biography
Synopsis: Dedman explores
the mysterious life of Huguette Clark, heir of
the W.A. Clark copper mining fortune.
Date finished: 17
November 2013
Rating: ****½
Comments:
This is one of those books I bought to see what all the fuss
was about. It sounded interesting, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned this
year, it’s that a few hundred stellar reviews on Amazon means something. Were
the reviews right? Absolutely. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was part
journalism, part mystery, part gossip column. The writing was engaging and pleasant,
and I believe the book was thoroughly researched and honest.
Why did Huguette Clark cut herself off from her family and
become a recluse? Was she being taken advantage of by her nurse, doctors, attorney,
and accountant? Did she give away millions upon millions of dollars of her own
free will? Was she mentally ill? Why did she play with dolls and watch
cartoons? Why did she spend the last 20 years of her life in a hospital when
she wasn’t ill and had several million-dollar homes she could have lived in?
These mysteries and more are left up to the reader to decide.
I tend to think Huguette was an eccentric lady who used her
money to amuse herself (her doll collection and custom-made doll castles) but
also gave millions of dollars away willingly. In later years, I believe her
nurse and doctors took advantage of her generosity, but she likely knew what she
was giving away; she often refused requests for money from others, showing she
was decisive. Since she had no heirs, she probably wanted to spend her fortune
herself before she died.
My one beef with the book is that it came out before the court
case taken up by her 19 family members was resolved. Perhaps the case will go
on another few years, but if not, I really would have prefer the authors held
off on publication until all was settled. I didn’t like going through the book
only to have no resolution.
Would you recommend
this to a friend?
Wholeheartedly.
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