Hearstʹs other castle
"From 1925, St Donat's was part of a story of fantastic riches and Hollywood romance. A sleepy village in the Vale of Glamorgan found itself on the glamour pages when American newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst purchased St Donat's Castle, indulging his love of the medieval, and providing a European retreat for his lover Marion Davies. At one point Hearst was spending $11,000 a day on architectural adornment and art; the Castle housed the world's finest collection of armour. Such spending at St Donat's and at San Simeon (Hearst's Californian 'castle') inspired Orson Welles's classic film, Citizen Kane." "Visitors to St Donat's included stars like Charlie Chaplin; politicians such as Lloyd George, Winston Churchill and future U.S. President John F. Kennedy; aristocrats and influential figures arrived for parties, weekends or longer. Yet within ten years Hearst's empire had virtually collapsed; the art collections were sold and a purchaser for the castle sought."--Jacket
Print Book, English, ©1999
Seren, Bridgend, Wales, ©1999