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New Releases by Denise Kiernan

Denise Kiernan is the author of Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence and The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home.

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Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence

by: Denise Kiernan, Joseph D'Agnese
Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence
In the summer of 1776, fifty-six men risked their lives and livelihood to defy King George III and sign the Declaration of Independence--yet how many of them do we actually remember?

Signing Their Lives Away introduces readers to the eclectic group of statesmen, soldiers, slaveholders, and scoundrels who signed this historic document--and the many strange fates that awaited them. Some prospered and rose to the highest levels of United States government, while others had their homes and farms seized by British soldiers.

Signer George Wythe was poisoned by his nephew; Button Gwinnett was killed in a duel; Robert Morris went to prison; Thomas Lynch was lost at sea; and of course Sam Adams achieved fame as a patriot/brewer.

Complete with portraits of the signers as well as a facsimile of the Declaration of Independence,Signing Their Lives Away provides an entertaining and enlightening narrative for history buffs of all ages.

From the Hardcover edition.


Is the U.S. Constitution important to you?

Then you'll want to see the second book in this series, also by the authors:

Signing Their RIGHTS Away: The Fame & Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the U.S. Constitution

"An extraordinarily fascinating study of America's lesser-known founding fathers alongside the more well-known ones, Signing Their Rights Today is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended contribution to public and college library shelves." -- Midwest Book Review (Reviewer's Choice)

"[The authors]...maintain a refreshing reverence for the Constitution itself. Rather than ask readers to believe that an 'assembly of demigods' (Jefferson's words) wrote the Constitution, Ms. Kiernan and Mr. D'Agnese challenge the notion that the group that crafted this document of enduring genius was uniquely brilliant or visionary. If this raises the question of how exactly the miracle was accomplished, it should at least give readers some hope for our own seemingly uninspired political era." -- The Wall Street Journal

The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home

by: Denise Kiernan
The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home
“A soaring and gorgeous American story” (Karen Abbott) from the author of the New York Times bestselling The Girls of Atomic City.

The fascinating true story behind the magnificent Gilded Age mansion Biltmore—the largest, grandest residence ever built in the United States.

The story of Biltmore spans World Wars, the Jazz Age, the Depression, and generations of the famous Vanderbilt family, and features a captivating cast of real-life characters including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, Teddy Roosevelt, John Singer Sargent, James Whistler, Henry James, and Edith Wharton.

Orphaned at a young age, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser claimed lineage from one of New York's best known families. She grew up in Newport and Paris, and her engagement and marriage to George Vanderbilt was one of the most watched events of Gilded Age society. But none of this prepared her to be mistress of Biltmore House.

Before their marriage, the wealthy and bookish Vanderbilt had dedicated his life to creating a spectacular European-style estate on 125,000 acres of North Carolina wilderness. He summoned the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to tame the grounds, collaborated with celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt to build a 175,000-square-foot chateau, filled it with priceless art and antiques, and erected a charming village beyond the gates. Newlywed Edith was now mistress of an estate nearly three times the size of Washington, DC and benefactress of the village and surrounding rural area. When fortunes shifted and changing times threatened her family, her home, and her community, it was up to Edith to save Biltmore—and secure the future of the region and her husband's legacy.

The Last Castle is the unique American story of how the largest house in America flourished, faltered, and ultimately endured to this day.


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