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(narrator) A whirlwind romance that became a deadly nightmare...
a daring escape from the enemy's lair...
and an epic family feud that left a young heiress
captive in her own home...
but first...
a blood-curdling tale
set on a remote British moor...
[dog barking]
that inspired a masterpiece of English literature.
And at the heart of the legend
is this sprawling ancestral mansion.
[thunder crashes]
The gray flint walls of Cromer Hall rise menacingly
over the bleak and desolate region of eastern England
known as East Anglia.
(man) Cromer Hall is a rather forbidding, cold, flinty,
baronial manor house
on the very edge of England, really.
It's a very lonely part of the world.
(narrator) The outside is covered with fearsome gargoyles,
octagonal chimneys,
and tall, stained glass windows,
while the interior halls are lined with portraits of the family
that has called this manor home for more than 150 years.
(Matthew) In 1852, Cromer Hall was acquired by the Cabbell family,
and they've lived in here ever since.
(narrator) But this sprawling estate is also home
to a chilling tale of ***, revenge,
and literary genius.
The quiet town of Blythburgh on the east coast of England
is rocked by an event so shocking
that its legacy will reverberate in this region
for nearly 500 years.
It's a peaceful Sunday morning at the Holy Trinity Church,
but something terrifying happens.
(Matthew) This hound of hell materializes
in a local church and kills two people.
[people screaming]
People are lying dead in the aisle, so the story goes,
and this creature is there, sitting in the church
and gazing at the congregation with these fiery eyes.
(narrator) Then, the sinister canine vanishes,
leaving behind a scorch mark from its flaming claws
on the doorway of the church,
a mark that can still be seen to this day.
As sightings of the monstrous dog
multiply across the region,
locals give the beast a name--
[dog growling]
(Matthew) The legends of Black Shuck have been
quite deeply embedded in this area.
He's a fearsome figure, a kind of supernatural dog
who haunts all of this part of the East Anglian coast.
(narrator) The rumors of Black Shuck endure for centuries,
with the dog being blamed for all manner of bizarre incidents,
from slaughtered livestock to vanished children.
The legend of the giant black dog with red eyes
becomes embedded in the local lore,
but it isn't until the beginning of the 20th century
that a visitor to nearby Cromer Hall secures
the hellhound's immortality...forever.
In the summer of 1901,
the world famous creator of Sherlock Holmes,
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
is on vacation in the coastal town of Cromer.
(Matthew) Conan Doyle in 1901 is one of the great figures of British literature,
so the arrival of a celebrity like Conan Doyle
would be something that the local press would have latched onto.
(narrator) Eager to meet the great writer, the owner of Cromer Hall,
a man named Benjamin Cabbell,
invites Conan Doyle to dine at his estate.
Over dinner, the conversation inevitably turns
to the story of Black Shuck.
Intrigued, the author presses Cabbell
for more details,
and the host reveals that his family has their own version
of a devilish dog story that has plagued them for generations.
His tale begins in 1677
with Benjamin Cabbell's wicked ancestor,
Richard Cabbell, his beautiful young wife,
and her loving companion-- a large, black dog.
(Matthew) Richard Cabbell was a rather
nasty squire of the 17th century.
He believes his wife has been unfaithful to him,
and she runs out across the moors,
and he goes after her with a knife.
(narrator) Finally capturing her in the dark countryside,
the evil aristocrat is overcome with rage
and stabs her to death,
but Richard Cabbell
is swiftly made to pay for his crime.
(Matthew) Her dog, seeing what he's done,
turns on him and tears out his throat.
[man shouting]
(narrator) And the story doesn't end there.
The ghost of the dog is said to take on monstrous proportions
and to roam the moors, terrorizing successive generations
of the Cabbell family.
Conan Doyle, impressed by the gothic surroundings of Cromer Hall,
is mesmerized by the frightening details of the story.
And so a germ in the writer's fertile mind takes root.
So all of these elements come together
and start whirling away in Doyle's imagination.
(narrator) And there's one final detail that makes the story complete.
By chance, the coachman
who drove him to the estate that evening
had an unusual name-- Baskerville.
The result of this is the story of "The Hound of the Baskervilles".
(narrator) Perhaps the most famous of the Sherlock Holmes stories,
"The Hound of the Baskervilles" is destined
to become a classic of British detective fiction.
When the tale is published in 1902,
it becomes an instant sensation throughout the English-speaking world,
and it has remained so ever since.
But few readers realize the inspiration for the story
lay in Doyle's visit to the forbidding manor house at Cromer Hall.
(Matthew) Conan Doyle sets the scene for us, describes the building
in which this story is going to take place,
and it's a building that has crenellations, it has turrets,
it has high chimneys, and mullioned windows,
and I think you can see in that description, perhaps,
something of the architectural ghost of Cromer Hall.
(narrator) Today, in the remote lowlands of East Anglia,
the gray walls of Cromer Hall stand as an imposing reminder
of the classic horror tale
that has captivated the world...
and of the local legend of Black Shuck,
who some claim can still be heard here late at night,
baying across the moors.
[dog howling]
When a Wall Street robber baron
met a wealthy Scottish aristocrat,
the end result was an international scandal
of epic proportions,
and at the center of it all was a cunning scheme,
cooked up by the owner of this castle.
Resting on 67 acres of lush hillside
in Tarrytown, New York,
is an extravagant country estate.
(man) You see it sitting majestically on a hill
above you with the blue sky above.
It has turrets, it has towers...
every surface on the outside
and the inside is carved.
(narrator) Clad in white limestone, nicknamed "Sing Sing marble"
after the nearby prison where the stone was quarried,
the imposing edifice is known simply as Lyndhurst.
(Howard) This is an incredibly unique castle.
It's considered by many to be the most important mansion
in the United States.
(narrator) Inside the 40-room home, the elegant furnishings
and lavish decorations are a sign of the wealth,
privilege, and power of the man
who once lived here--
the industrialist, Jay Gould.
(Howard) We have wonderful Tiffany windows,
a great collection of French 19th century paintings,
and a robber baron portable desk,
which was the height of luxury in the 19th century.
(narrator) But this majestic residence is also linked
to one of the greatest swindles of the day,
one which sent shockwaves
across the nation and beyond.
Known as "the wizard of Wall Street",
Jason "Jay" Gould is one of the richest men in America.
An archetypal robber baron, he has made his millions
by using political influence to manipulate the markets
in his favor,
and his greed knows no bounds.
(Howard) He's like a modern hedge fund manager today.
He's the most hated man in the United States,
but he has so much money that he doesn't care what other people think.
(narrator) At the heart of Gould's booming business empire
is a new technology that is transforming America--
railroads.
(Howard) He doesn't actually build railroads.
He takes ownership of railroads.
(narrator) And Gould's latest target to take over
is the Erie Railroad.
Gould thinks that if he can buy this failing line,
he can manipulate the stock and sell it at a profit.
But despite his huge wealth,
Gould doesn't have quite enough money to do the deal
or any friends who will back his venture.
(Howard) 'Cause Jay Gould was not liked.
There were many people who wanted to see Jay Gould fail.
(narrator) But then Gould meets someone
who he thinks can help,
a charismatic Scottish aristocrat named Lord Gordon Gordon.
(Howard) Lord Gordon Gordon tells him
that he comes from an incredibly wealthy family
and has a number of European investors
who have funds that would give Jay Gould control of the Erie Railroad.
(narrator) In exchange for bringing
a host of rich investors to the table,
Gould offers Gordon Gordon a slice of the railroad for himself.
(Howard) Gould gives him
$500,000 cash and stock,
which Lord Gordon Gordon is supposed to hold
until the deal is consummated.
(narrator) If the deal goes through,
it will make Gould the most powerful industrialist in America,
but there's one thing the scheming robber baron hasn't counted on.
(Howard) Lord Gordon Gordon isn't a lord.
He's an imposter.
(narrator) When Gould gives Lord Gordon Gordon his stock,
the charming nobleman is supposed to hold onto it,
but he doesn't.
He cashes out and flees the country,
wrecking the deal
and humiliating Gould in the process.
(Howard) Jay Gould is a very astute businessman,
so to realize that he's been taken
for a very large amount of money...
he must have been enraged.
(narrator) Desperate for revenge, Gould tracks
the phony Scottish lord to a house in Canada
and sends a team of heavies to bring him back to the U.S.
to face justice,
but even the wizard of Wall Street fails
to anticipate the fiasco that is about to follow.
[thunder crashes]
(narrator) New York, 1873.
The hated railroad baron Jay Gould
has had a taste of his own medicine
when an enterprising con artist named Lord Gordon Gordon
swindled him out of half a million dollars
and flees to Canada.
So Gould concocts a reckless plan
to bring the Scottish scammer to justice.
(Howard) When they find Lord Gordon Gordon,
he's sitting on a porch,
and it's not a pretty scene.
They bind his feet, his legs,
they throw him into a covered wagon,
they are basically kidnapping him.
(narrator) But smuggling the Scottish swindler back into the U.S.
is harder than they think.
(Howard) When they get to the border,
border police from Canada stop them,
they release Gordon Gordon.
They arrest Jay Gould's associates and throw them in jail.
(narrator) To the Canadians, kidnapping is a far worse crime than fraud.
And before long, the event blows up
into a major international scandal.
(Howard) The ambassadors from each country were called out,
and this really went to the highest levels.
Eventually, the Americans who were held in prison are released,
but it is not a small thing.
(narrator) It seems that the cheeky Celtic lord has gotten away with it,
but the vengeful robber baron
is not about to give up.
Gould finally manages to get the Canadian police to issue
an arrest warrant for the intrepid imposter,
and on August 1, 1874,
when Gordon Gordon sees the police approaching,
he knows the jig is up.
(Howard) At that moment, he realized...
he just decided that it was better to end it there.
(narrator) Before police can escort him to jail,
Gordon Gordon pulls out a gun
and shoots himself dead,
denying Jay Gould the final satisfaction
of bringing him to justice in an American court.
In the aftermath, Lord Gordon Gordon
goes down as one of history's greatest con artists,
but there is one final twist to his tale.
(Howard) The interesting thing about Lord Gordon Gordon
is we don't actually know who he is.
(narrator) The true identity of the phony Scottish lord
remains a mystery to this day.
For his part, Jay Gould never lives down the embarrassing incident
but doesn't allow it to get in the way
of his ruthless ambition.
While his dreams of controlling the Erie Railroad ultimately fail,
he continues raking in millions through cunning Wall Street schemes,
and in 1880, he uses part of his fortune
to purchase this mansion.
(Howard) As we say, a man's home is his castle.
That literally and figuratively starts with Lyndhurst.
(narrator) And today, this majestic Tarrytown castle
stands as a reminder of the infamous American millionaire
who found himself outwitted by a charming imposter.
A daring escape attempt from the shadowy heart
of Nazi Germany.
This life or death game of cat and mouse
unfolded inside the massive stone walls
of one of Europe's most forbidding castles.
High on a promontory overlooking the River Moldau
in eastern Germany
rises the gleaming, white-washed edifice of Colditz Castle.
(man) You can see it from a long way away
because it's stuck right on the top of a lump of rock.
(narrator) This massive complex
of interconnected buildings and dark hallways
surrounds a secluded inner sanctum
that recalls the castle's sordid past.
(Robert) Ten years ago, it was painted white,
but that paint is only skin deep,
because when you get inside, it definitely has
an imposing, menacing,
looming aspect.
(narrator) The original castle was built nearly a thousand years ago
as a bastion against foreign invaders,
and throughout much of the 19th century,
it served as one of the region's largest insane asylums.
But the structure's most infamous function
was that of a Nazi prisoner of war camp during World War II.
(Robert) You've got these huge stone walls
and a ratio of guards to prisoners,
which, at one point, is almost one-to-one.
(narrator) But in spite of the tight security,
one thing was always on the Allied prisoners' minds...
escape.
And one incident stands apart
as one of the most audacious jailbreaks in military history.
The second World War is raging across Europe,
and the Germans have the upper hand,
but with their success on the battlefield,
the Nazis are confronted with an unusual dilemma.
What should they do with the thousands
of Allied officers they've captured,
many of whom are hell-bent on escaping the clutches
of their German captors?
The Germans had a problem.
They could make every prisoner of war camp impossible to escape from,
or take all the rotten apples from all over Germany
and put them in one basket, and that's what they chose to do.
(narrator) Bristling with armed guards and barbed wire,
Colditz Castle is repurposed as an escape-proofed prison,
designed specifically to house the trickiest POWs,
and one such inmate
is a 31-year-old British army captain named Pat Reid.
(Robert) Pat Reid... he's a conventional British officer
on the outside.
(narrator) But Pat Reid has an unusual skill.
(Robert) Pat Reid was very good at making things.
He spent a long time using a stolen dentist's drill
to make skeleton keys.
(narrator) Using his best skeleton key, Reid is confident
he can pick any lock in Colditz Castle
and slip out of the German stronghold.
So, on the night of October 14, 1942,
Reid and a small group of fellow inmates
decide to make a break for it.
At this point, it's going quite well.
(narrator) They manage pry loose a window in the inmates' kitchen
and make their way into the German section of the prison
where the Nazi guards live.
(Robert) They were able to avoid the search lights,
creep across the roofs of these outhouse buildings,
slide down off the roof, and make it into the German courtyard.
(narrator) On the far side of the courtyard,
all that stands between the men and freedom
is one last door.
Pat Reid has been very successful at opening almost every lock,
so he thinks he'll be able to open this door.
(narrator) But now there's a problem.
(Robert) He spends about an hour trying to pick the lock,
and he has no success at all.
(narrator) Stranded inside the German section of the castle,
it's only a matter of time before they will be caught.
With his vaunted skeleton key a failure,
now Pat Reid will have to come up with a new plan
to save the fugitives from their fate.
[thunder crashes]
(narrator) British officer Pat Reid is leading
a small group of prisoners in a daring escape attempt
from Colditz Castle,
a notorious prison camp in the heart of Nazi Germany,
but at a crucial moment,
Reid's skeleton key fails him,
leaving the escapees in desperate danger
and stranded inside the enemy's lair.
Reluctantly, the group abandons
their meticulous escape plan.
Pat Reid starts to improvise,
spotting a small trap door on the far side of the courtyard.
They sneak over, open up this door, and get inside.
They found their way into a cellar.
(narrator) Standing in several inches of fetid water,
they are at a loss as to which way to turn.
Pat Reid notices a glimmer of light.
It's a sort of slot or air vent.
(narrator) At first glance,
the thin shaft appears impossible to fit through,
but Pat Reid pulls himself up to the ceiling
and begins trying to squeeze his body through the opening.
(Robert) He managed to scramble up.
The only problem is, it's an extremely narrow shaft.
(narrator) But by stripping off his clothes and contorting
his body to the curve of the shaft, Reid manages to pull himself through.
The other prisoners follow suit,
and miraculously, they find themselves outside
the main castle walls.
Disguising themselves as workers
and using forged identification papers,
they manage to board a nearby passenger train
and traverse the 400 miles to the Swiss border.
Sneaking across in the dead of night,
their long quest for freedom is over.
(Robert) They all spend Christmas Eve together and have an incredible celebration.
It's probably the most successful British escape of World War II.
(narrator) Today, the white-washed walls of Colditz Castle
would hardly be recognizable to the brave soldiers
who risked their lives to defy their Nazi captors,
and it now stands as a solemn memorial
to their small victory in the great triumph of the Allied cause.
A whirlwind romance and a fairytale castle.
This is the story of how one woman's dream
of a life of luxury
turned into a deadly nightmare.
The small town of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia,
was once famous for the curative powers of its natural mineral waters.
It is now known as the home to a medieval-style fortress,
the romantic remnant of a dramatic love story,
Berkeley Castle.
(man) Right from the very beginning, it was a special building.
It sits on a hill overlooking
the center of the town.
(narrator) When it was completed in 1890,
it was one of the grandest residences in West Virginia,
adorned with dramatic stone towers
and medieval Christian icons.
(Andrew) The entrance is a large, open area,
six bedrooms, a drawing room,
dining room...
(narrator) The castle has its origins in a unique love story
that, at the time, captivated the nation.
So that charm remains with it.
(narrator) Though born out of romance,
this castle is also the site
of a shocking tale of greed, betrayal, and ***.
Well-to-do war veteran, Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit,
is in love.
(Andrew) Samuel Taylor Suit was a very wealthy man
of the Washington area.
He was an ambassador to England under President Grant.
(narrator) And the object of his affection
is the much younger Rosa Pelham,
the enchanting daughter of an Alabama congressman.
(Andrew) She knew what she wanted in life
and pretty much did what she wanted.
(narrator) As their romance blossoms,
the old soldier spies a chance to secure
Rosa's hand in marriage.
(Andrew) Colonel Suit mentioned to her
that if she would marry him,
he would build her a castle overlooking the town.
(narrator) Seduced by the thought of a lifetime of luxury,
Rosa accepts Colonel Suit's proposal,
and three days later,
they are married.
Not long after, the couple begins planning
the fairytale castle of Rosa's dreams,
all to her specifications.
(Andrew) They brought in stonemasons from Germany,
and for over three years, they worked on building the castle.
(narrator) And in 1888, the castle is complete,
but before the couple can move in,
tragedy strikes.
(Andrew) In September of 1888,
Colonel Suit became suddenly sick
and died by the end of the month.
(narrator) Instead of quietly mourning
the loss of her dedicated husband,
Rosa turns the spotlight on herself
and invites the world in to delight in the spectacular surroundings.
(Andrew) There were a lot of parties.
The parties would go throughout the night.
(narrator) Rosa's lavish parties become legendary among Washington's elite.
Their socialite friends
give her the nickname "Queen Rosa".
No expense is spared.
And it isn't long
before Rosa is accompanied by a host of new suitors.
(Andrew) Rosa definitely had lovers.
She wasn't discreet about it.
She wanted to be the center of attention.
She was the center of attention.
(narrator) It seems that despite her husband's untimely death,
Rosa has gotten everything she has ever desired.
But her fairytale lifestyle
is about to become a deadly nightmare.
[thunder crashes]
(narrator) It's the turn of the century in West Virginia.
Rosa Pelham is hosting elaborate party after party
at the fantastical castle
that her deceased husband built for her.
But according to legend,
one night, the festivities turn deadly
when her lover,
a man named James, trips and falls onto his umbrella.
The umbrella went into his neck and killed him.
(narrator) And James is not the last of Rosa's suitors
to meet a sticky end.
Another lover, a man named "Jawbone",
later gets on the wrong side of Rosa.
The story goes that Jawbone and Rosa
had a fight on the roof.
Supposedly, he accidentally
fell off and died.
(narrator) And with his dying breath,
Jawbone seals Rosa's fate.
(Andrew) He would curse the castle
and curse her.
(narrator) It's not long before the curse
seems to take effect.
The townsfolk start to wonder whether Rosa
was behind the deaths of her two lovers
and her husband.
(Andrew) Rumors started to circulate
that Rosa had a hand in it.
(narrator) Perhaps she wasn't a social queen,
but a cold-blooded serial killer.
That was the point when things became serious.
(narrator) The parties cease, and although she is never charged
with any crime, Rosa is shunned,
marred by dark rumors and scandal.
(Andrew) Her friends had left her,
she became more of a laughingstock of the town.
(narrator) It seems, in the end,
the legendary curse of Jawbone worked.
Rosa is reduced to poverty,
and her beloved Berkeley Castle
is sold at public auction,
and in 1947, she dies alone,
taking to her grave the mysterious truth
about what happened between her
and a string of unlucky lovers.
Today, Berkeley Castle still stands
in the hills of West Virginia as a powerful reminder
of the love-struck colonel and the dark rumors
that still swirl around his bride.
An ambitious young priest,
a fugitive queen,
and a mysterious fortune that transformed
an entire town.
The secret history of this remote citadel
in the south of France has puzzled visitors
for generations.
High on a hilltop, in the shadow of the rugged Pyrenees Mountains,
sits the village of Rennes-le-Chateau.
(man) It draws you in, it's almost like an invitation
that says, "Take another look, and you might find something interesting."
(narrator) This walled hamlet is home to a lavish manor
and a magnificent conservatory,
and at the center of the village
is a sinister-looking chapel,
decorated with startling images
of both heaven...and hell.
This is the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene.
And it's not like most other churches that are actually built for light.
It's very gloomy, and you see written above the door
the inscription in Latin, "This place is terrible."
(narrator) Once a humble farming community, Rennes-le-Chateau
now stands at the heart of one of the most perplexing mysteries
in all of France, attracting tens of thousands
of visitors each year.
The reason? This secluded bastion
is said to conceal a vast hoard of buried treasure.
(Rat) That's the one thing that draws everybody to Rennes-le-Chateau--
its treasure.
And it's still there.
(narrator) Thirty-three-year-old priest Berenger Sauniere
arrives in the small village of Rennes-le-Chateau to head
its 8th century church, Saint Mary Magdalene,
but when he sets eyes on the chapel,
he is shocked by its condition.
(Rat) The lead had been nicked off the roof,
the locals had started keeping pigs in the presbytery.
It was pretty much derelict and falling apart.
(narrator) Although the penniless priest
lacks the funds to refurbish the whole church,
he decides to repair its heavy stone altar.
Working with stonemasons, he lifts the slab
from the two ancient limestone pillars that support it...
only to discover that the pillars are hollow,
and inside one of them is something extraordinary--
a set of mysterious parchments
written in code.
What they said is a mystery to this day,
but what is known
is that shortly after finding them, Sauniere began
aggressively excavating the floor of the church.
Nobody knows exactly what he was doing, but he was in there on his own
with a shovel, and he digs up half of the church.
(narrator) Then, in the weeks that follow,
the priest begins buying all manner
of expensive artifacts for his church.
Now that's when the money began to flow.
(narrator) Sauniere spares no expense on paintings
and the finest religious statuary.
He builds a luxurious villa
to serve as his residence,
along with an ornate tower, which would become
his personal library.
It was a full-blown project,
you know, there was no short-changing it.
And also, he was making lavish gifts
to other people in the village--
gold crucibles, antique jewelry.
(narrator) By the time of his death in 1917,
Sauniere had spent the equivalent of millions of dollars
on the humble village of Rennes-le-Chateau,
but the mystery remains-- where did the money come from?
[thunder crashes]
(narrator) Rennes-le-Chateau, France, 1917.
This remote mountain sanctuary has been left
an incredible legacy of art and culture,
endowed by the local priest,
Berenger Sauniere.
But where did his fabulous riches come from?
In the years following his death,
an astonishing theory emerges that could explain
the source of Sauniere's sudden wealth.
The story begins in 13th century Egypt.
King Louis IX of France is on a crusade
when he is captured and put in a prison
on the banks of the Nile River.
Back in France, his mother Blanche of Castile
is left to defend the monarchy,
but in the king's absence,
the population has grown restless,
and the aging matriarch is facing an armed uprising
of 30,000 peasants.
(Rat) I think she just grabbed, took, clawed,
whatever she could get from wherever.
And then it comes to the point where she actually disappears down to the cell.
(narrator) The queen mother flees Paris for the Pyrenees,
hauling with her some $18 million gold francs
from the French treasury.
When Blanche nears the Spanish border,
she decides to bury the treasure in the tunnels and caves
in and around the tiny hamlet
of Rennes-le-Chateau.
(Rat) When you go to that area, you see how mountainous...
how many hundreds of caves, passageways...
that's a pretty good place to stash a fortune.
(narrator) With her health failing, the fugitive queen
hides out in the Pyrenees,
and before she dies, she leaves her son, Louis IX,
an elaborate, coded message concerning the whereabouts
of the buried gold.
So, were the parchments found by Berenger Sauniere in the altar
of the chapel at Rennes-le-Chateau
actually a treasure map that revealed the location
of the queen's buried treasure?
We may never know.
To this day, the prospect of finding the rest of the hidden treasure
still draws fortune seekers from around the world.
(Rat) People are digging there all the time.
It's still there to be found.
(narrator) Today, the beautiful structures
of Rennes-le-Chateau stand silent
above this isolated Pyrenean valley,
custodians of one of the greatest unsolved mysteries
in European history.
When a ruthless social climber locks up her daughter
in her own home,
the stage is set for an epic family quarrel,
and it all happened here,
in the playground of the super-rich.
Built on four beautifully landscaped acres,
this 19th century mansion in the heart
of Newport, Rhode Island, is adorned
with the ornate trappings of wealth and ambition.
(woman) The house is decorated
with friezes depicting Greek gods and goddesses,
which its builder referred to
as a temple of the arts.
(narrator) Completed at a cost of $11 million dollars,
more than $250 million in today's terms,
this neoclassical structure boasts
a panoramic view of Rhode Island Sound.
This is Marble House.
(Laurie) I think that Marble House epitomizes
the glamour and the drama of the Gilded Age.
(narrator) The extravagance of the house
is without equal in North America
and can only be compared to the great palaces
of European royalty.
(Laurie) You're completely enveloped
in this atmosphere of gold and marble,
from French and Italian paintings in gilded frames
to the famous gold ballroom.
(narrator) But the opulent splendor of this grand estate
masks a dark family secret.
(Laurie) It was the scene of one of the most
legendary mother-daughter conflicts of the Gilded Age.
(narrator) Twenty-one-year-old Alva Erskine Smith
is a ruthless social climber,
and she is on a mission to snag the wealthiest man she can.
(Laurie) Alva is an ambitious woman in the 19th century.
Really the only option available for a woman at that time
was to marry well,
and so she set about attempting
to marry very well.
(narrator) Alva's perseverance pays off,
and she eventually becomes engaged to none other
than William Kissam Vanderbilt,
the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt,
who was then the richest man in the world.
And on April 20, 1875,
Alva and William are married.
(Laurie) Alva decides from the beginning
of her marriage with William K. Vanderbilt
that they are going to become the king and queen of society.
(narrator) And not long afterward, Alva builds what she hopes
will be the grandest summer home in Newport, Rhode Island.
With over 500,000 cubic feet of the finest marble
and ornate chambers reminiscent of the French palace in Versailles,
Marble House is unlike anything seen in America before.
(Laurie) She wanted to make sure that everyone knew
that she had arrived.
(narrator) But Alva's garish extravagance doesn't go down well
with her old money neighbors.
(Laurie) They were not shy about talking about her behind her back.
(narrator) So she tries a new strategy.
If she can't get accepted by the highest echelon of American society,
perhaps her children can.
Alva starts work on her daughter, Consuelo.
Consuelo is trained to speak
only French at home,
French being the lingua-franca
of the international aristocracy,
and to give her the proper aristocratic posture,
she's fitted with a contraption
with a steel rod against her spine.
(narrator) And to top it off, Alva arranges for Consuelo
to marry an English aristocrat,
the future Duke of Marlborough, Charles Spencer Churchill.
But 18-year-old Consuelo has her sights set closer to home.
(Laurie) Consuelo, ironically,
fell for the proverbial boy next door,
a young man named Winthrop Rutherford.
Alva, however, was dead set
on the match with Marlborough.
So Consuelo's sheltered childhood was leading up
to a conflict with her mother that was to become
the stuff of legend.
(narrator) And the stage is set for an epic battle
that will tear the family apart.
[thunder crashes]
(narrator) Newport, Rhode Island, 1895.
Ruthless social climber, Alva Vanderbilt,
is determined that her daughter, Consuelo,
should get an aristocratic title by marrying
the future Duke of Marlborough.
But Consuelo has other plans,
declaring her love for a local boy named Winthrop Rutherford.
(Laurie) The conflict really flared here at Marble House
when Consuelo announced that she would not
marry the duke.
Alva said, "Yes, you will, and I'm locking you
in the house until you change your mind."
(narrator) Alva imprisons Consuelo in her bedroom,
but Consuelo stands firm.
Alva, at one point, threatens to get a gun
and shoot Winthrop Rutherford,
and it will all be Consuelo's fault,
and she'll have to live with the guilt.
(narrator) And when that doesn't work,
Alva takes a new tack.
One day, Consuelo is summoned by a doctor to her mother's bedchamber
and informed that Alva is suffering
from a possibly fatal heart condition.
The doctor informs Consuelo that her mother's illness
is the direct result of Consuelo's refusal
to marry the future Duke.
(Laurie) Consuelo finally buckles
under the pressure.
(narrator) Rather than live with the guilt of her mother's death,
she agrees to the marriage.
(Laurie) Almost instantly, Alva recovers
from this alleged massive heart attack,
and the very next day, proceeds to start making plans
for the wedding.
(narrator) Consuelo realizes that her mother and the doctor have tricked her,
but it's too late.
Just a few weeks later, she marries the future Duke of Marlborough,
but the union is not a happy one,
and eventually, the couple splits.
Freed from the shackles of the arranged marriage,
Consuelo forgives her mother.
But although the two are reconciled,
Alva's reputation as the ultimate social climber endures.
(Laurie) I think Alva is remembered today
as the Gilded Age's "Mommy Dearest".
(narrator) Today, the gleaming white edifice of Marble House
stands as a tangible reminder of the supreme opulence
of Newport society,
and the craven lengths that one woman went to
to ensure her social status.