by Robert Baer
First published 2012
Dr. Robert Baer stands before the empty foundation stones where a medieval monastery once rose in the Spanish countryside. The building vanished in 1928, purchased and dismantled by publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. Baer has made it his mission to trace what happened to six such structures that Hearst acquired between 1925 and 1931 across Britain and Spain. Armed with shipping records and architectural fragments, he follows a paper trail from European ruins to American estates. Some monasteries were rebuilt at Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Others became construction material for St. Donat's Castle in Wales. Many pieces simply disappeared. As Baer reconstructs this forgotten chapter in Hearst's life as collector and builder, he uncovers the human cost of one man's architectural ambitions and the stories of the craftsmen who took apart centuries of history stone by stone.
Genres: history, 20th-century, non-fiction, art-history, architecture
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction, investigative-journalism
Setting: Britain, Spain, St. Donat's Castle, San Simeon
Period: 1925-1931
244 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform