Carolands is among the grandest American residences. Designed by celebrated French architect Ernest Sanson for Harriett Pullman Carolan, heiress to the Pullman railroad car fortune, the 65,000 square feet, 98-room mansion was built between 1912 and 1916 on a 500-acre estate at the highest point of the exclusive township of Hillsborough, California. The plans for the gardens and surrounding park were drawn up by the great landscape designer Achille Duchêne

Architectural historian Michael Middleton Dwyer discussed Carolands' place among the great houses of its day - such as Harbor Hill, Lynnewood, Biltmore, and Vizcaya - and then explores the history of how Sanson, Duchêne, and Polk came to be commissioned to build this magnificent house for the heiress.

A magnificent color portfolio shows the house and garden today, which have been meticulously restored by Carolands’ current owners. Martin Lane Fox, until recently Vice Chairman of the Royal Horticultural Society and Chairman of its Horticultural Board, was asked to re-create the gardens, and the legendary Mario Buatta undertook the interior decoration.

An outstanding feature of the book is the reproduction of original drawings and plans by Sanson, Duchêne, and Polk, all specially photographed for the book, as well as original letters among the three on the design and construction of Carolands and archival photographs of the interiors and furnishings.

Superbly designed and produced, this book is an exemplary record of a great house.