Wayne Johnston has made a habit of blending historical fact and fiction in his novels, but the scales tip decidedly towards the latter in this riches-to-rags-to-riches-and-back-to-rags tale inspired by the author’s visit to Biltmore—George Washington Vanderbilt II’s massive faux French chateau in North Carolina. Built in the late 1880s at the height of the so-called Gilded Age, Biltmore is still the largest private residence in the U.S. Read more…