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Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Janet Maslin, The New York Times St. Louis Post Dispatch When Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed in 2009 a grand home for sale, unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled through a surprising portal into American history. Empty Mansions is a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting the Gilded Age opulence of the nineteenth century with a twenty first
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYJanet Maslin, The New York Times - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed in 2009 a grand home for sale, unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled through a surprising portal into American history. Empty Mansions is a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting the Gilded Age opulence of the nineteenth century with a twenty-first-century battle over a $300 million inheritance. At its heart is a reclusive heiress named Huguette Clark, a woman so secretive that, at the time of her death at age 104, no new photograph of her had been seen in decades. Though she owned palatial homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, why had she lived for twenty years in a simple hospital room, despite being in excellent health? Why were her valuables being sold off? Was she in control of her fortune, or controlled by those managing her money? Dedman has collaborated with Huguette Clark's cousin, Paul Clark Newell, Jr., one of the few relatives to have frequent conversations with her. Dedman and Newell tell a fairy tale in reverse: the bright, talented daughter, born into a family of extreme wealth and privilege, who secrets herself away from the outside world. Huguette was the daughter of self-made copper industrialist W. A. Clark, nearly as rich as Rockefeller in his day, a controversial senator, railroad builder, and founder of Las Vegas. She grew up in the largest house in New York City, a remarkable dwelling with 121 rooms for a family of four. She owned paintings by Degas and Renoir, a world-renowned Stradivarius violin, a vast collection of antique dolls. But wanting more than treasures, she devoted her wealth to buying gifts for friends and strangers alike, to quietly pursuing her own work as an artist, and to guarding the privacy she valued above all else. The Clark family story spans nearly all of American history in three generations, from a log cabin in Pennsylvania to mining camps in the Montana gold rush, from backdoor politics in Washington to a distress call from an elegant Fifth Avenue apartment. The same Huguette who was touched by the terror attacks of 9/11 held a ticket nine decades earlier for a first-class stateroom on the second voyage of the Titanic.
Empty Mansions reveals a complex portrait of the mysterious Huguette and her intimate circle. We meet her extravagant father, her publicity-shy mother, her star-crossed sister, her French boyfriend, her nurse who received more than $30 million in gifts, and the relatives fighting to inherit Huguette's copper fortune. Richly illustrated with more than seventy photographs, Empty Mansions is an enthralling story of an eccentric of the highest order, a last jewel of the Gilded Age who lived life on her own terms. Praise for Empty Mansions "An amazing story of profligate wealth . . . an outsized tale of rags-to-riches prosperity."--The New York Times "An evocative and rollicking read, part social history, part hothouse mystery, part grand guignol."--The Daily Beast
"Fascinating . . . a] haunting true-life tale."--People
"One of those incredible stories that you didn't even know existed. It filled a void."--Jon Stewart, The Daily Show "Thrilling . . . deliciously scandalous."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 09/10/2013
ISBN: 9780345534521
Pages: 456
Weight: 1.80lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.60w x 1.30d
Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2013
Booklist 09/01/2013 pg. 20
Library Journal 09/15/2013 pg. 79
Publishers Weekly 09/16/2013
People Weekly 11/04/2013 pg. 53
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4.3 ★★★★★
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
These are a travel must!
Size: 15 Combo Travel Size
We recently took a trip to Japan and South Korea with our 3 kids, and needed to bring all their clothes for 2 weeks, with as few suitcases as possible.
These bags were a life saver!
We were able to fit so much more stuff in our suitcases with these bags. I don’t know how we would have brought everything without them. We would have had to bring at least one, probably two suitcases more.
Easy to use - the vacuum is compact so you can bring it with you, but super powerful and works quickly. Remember to charge it after you use it for when you pack back up. But, you can manually push out the air as well if you’re in a pinch.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2026
★★★★★ 4
More pros than cons, very convenient, but durability is an issue.
Size: 15 Combo Travel Size
Pros: I think that this is a good product. I've had it for several weeks and travel every week for work. It's a good design and the vacuum pump is ergonomic and reliable, in my experience. Charges relatively quickly at home and I'm not sure how long the charge lasts, because it's convenient with a USB-C port, so I charged whenever the charge got to 3 bars. My experience is that dress shirts maintain the pressing if folded and packed neatly. They're creased, but hang them in the hotel bathroom and the steam from a shower loosens the wrinkles nicely.
Cons: durability. The bags are pretty thin and after 3 or 4 trips the seal in the bag(s) can become compromised. I suspect the leaks are tiny and in the actual bag vs. the seal. With regular use, this was in only two of the fifteen bags. The double zip lock is really durable.
FOR CAMPING: they were great for motorcycle camping, however the durability became an issue. I was camping along a lake and took some care with the bags, but admittedly was a little harder on them than I could have been. I took extra bags just in case, and am glad I did. Three of the 6 bags I took slowly lost the vacuum. If you're using them for camping, pack extras. They're inexpensive enough to continue to buy replacements periodically and you do get a lot.
TIPS: pack the vacuum in the suitcase with the bags. Pack the bags with a complete outfit for each day. The temptation is to pack shirts in one bag, socks/underwear in the other, etc. It's more difficult to repack dirty clothes that way, but if you have each day in its own bag you just use each one for a dirty laundry bag.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Over packer approved! GOODBYE checked bag fees!!
Size: 9 Combo Travel Size
These were incredible for our recent flight to Tampa. I’m an overpacker by nature, and we normally have to check at least one bag, but these completely changed that. We were able to fit everything into our carry-ons and backpacks with room to spare, which even saved us from paying a checked bag fee.
The vacuum came already charged, and I still haven’t needed to recharge it, which was a nice bonus. It also comes with a small travel bag to keep the charging cord together, which made it easy to stay organized. The suction is strong and works quickly. I packed one bag completely full and it compressed it down to about half the size.
The bags are durable and easy to seal, even without using the plastic zipper clips. As long as they’re fully sealed, they stay compressed and don’t slowly let air back in. We unpacked everything at the hotel and stored the empty bags in our suitcases, then reused them to pack for the trip home with no issues.
The vacuum isn’t silent, but it’s not overly loud either. I’d compare it to being quieter than a typical hair dryer.
This is such a game changer for travel and saving space. I’ll definitely be using these for every trip.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Extremely well made travel vacuum bags
Size: 9 Combo Travel Size
These are great kits for Travel and storage.
I now have two sets.
The pump works very well. Small enough for carry on.
One very small dislike, There are small clips that slide across the top closer. But nothing to stop them either end. So may fall off.
But I would highly recommend them. 9 out of 10 for me.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Absolutely Perfect?!!
Size: 15 Combo Travel Size, Size: 15 Combo Travel Size
AMAZING!! This made packing soooo easy and such a breeze!! My suitcase was organized & I had everything that I needed for my trip. It has a great suction & comes with several red strips (I’ll call them) to ensure a tight seal before suctioning the air out. The bags comes on several different sizes & hold quite a bit of items in the big bag which held out hoodies & sweatsuits. Vacuum it’s not loud at all. Lightweight but packs power. This is a game changer! Very durable & great quality!! I’d highly recommend this item.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2026
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