The Story of Keswick Hall

About this book

At the center of The Story of Keswick Hall is a gorgeous 8000-square-foot Italianate structure in Keswick Virginia prime countryside just outside Charlottesville. Known for decades as the Villa Crawford the great house today is known as Keswick Hall and is one of the signature destinations in the worldwide Orient-Express portfolio. But if the old palace under the trees is beaming with fame and elegance today that wasnt always so and its troubled story is what drives this wonderful new book poised to become a must-have for enthusiasts of history and an ideal recommendation for libraries and book clubs. With some measure of obsessive fascination Castelli has captured a story of hope dissolution madness and even murder. As with any gothic novel the main character is the house itself and Castellis tale begins in 1912 with the construction of the mansion itself a private home for 35 years. For decades various owners tried to transform it into a country club with flickering success. Owners friends locals investors and movie stars came in all its colorful seasons including Elizabeth Taylor while filming Giant when the country club was a sporty grandee or Alan Alda while filming The Four Seasons when the club was a senile ruin. Castelli working with an eye for the finest point traces the Villa Crawford in its slow descent into poignant abandonment. In the early 1990s just when the place was about to meet the bulldozers Sir Bernard Ashley resurrected the club doubled it in size and set it on the world stage where it remains today. Illustrated with photographs menus tickets movie publicity shots and filled with the oral histories of those who feted one another beneath the chandeliers this is one of those rare books whose unfolding story lines of grandeur and ruin are compelling reading. Anyone who loves history families rise fall and resurrection will enjoy this book personally and as an ideal gift. -- Avery Chenoweth