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Scott Marshall. The Mount: Home of Edith Wharton, A Historic Structure Report.
Speaking before assembled guests and staff at The Mount on July 14, 1998, Hillary Rodham Clinton said: "So, I thank all of you for being caretakers of Edith Wharton's gifts. Each of you has not only made The Mount an example of what caring, dedicated citizens can do, but you have made Lenox, Massachusetts, a shining example of what every community through every citizen from the kindergarten classroom to the corporate boardroom can do." Edith Wharton Restoration (EWR), the primary caretaker of The Mount, has recently published The Mount: Home of Edith Wharton, A Historic Structure Report which shows what this non-profit organization can do (and still needs to do) to restore Wharton's estate. After more than a decade in preparation, this volume is a welcome addition to the growing shelf of books on Wharton's talents as a designer.
Those who attended the Edith Wharton at the Mount conference in June of 1997 will remember that the gracious home was surrounded by scaffolding. That work was to stabilize the building and to secure its exterior. Those necessary steps were the beginning of a process which hopes to see a complete restoration of the house and gardens by the year 2001. To insure that the work can go forward and to establish an endowment for the care and operation of The Mount, EWR is in the midst of a capital campaign to raise fifteen million dollars. The Mount...