We are so pleased to have this Florida author as our August guest.
Alyssa Maxwell knew from an early age that she wanted to be a novelist. Growing up in New England and traveling to Great Britain fueled a passion for history, while a love of puzzles drew her to the mystery genre. She is the author of The Gilded Newport Mysteries and A Lady and Lady’s Maid Mysteries. She and her husband live in Florida, where she is a member of the Mystery Writers of American-Florida Chapter, Sisters in Crime-Treasure Coast Chapter, and the Florida Romance Writers.
The Breakers vs. The Breakers
You’re probably looking at the title of this post and thinking, “HUH?” Read on!
What comes to mind when you see the words, The Breakers? Depending on where you live or where you tend to spend your vacations, you might give two very different answers.
When I wrote Murder at The Breakers, book 1 in my Gilded Newport Mysteries, I had only one setting in mind—the Italian palazzo built by Cornelius and Alice Vanderbilt high on a clifftop overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Newport, RI. Soon after the book came out, a reviewer for Florida Weekly contacted me about reviewing the book, since it was of local Florida interest. I was confused at first, but then it dawned on me that he thought I’d written about the massive hotel in Palm Beach by the same name: The Breakers. We had a laugh over the misunderstanding, and he was good enough to review the book anyway.
So, two Breakers! Let’s take a look at how they’re similar and how they’re different.
First off, both were built by railroad tycoons during the Gilded Age. The Breakers in Newport, which opened in the summer of 1895, was designed by Richard Morris Hunt as a family summer home, albeit one that made the viewer dizzy and overwhelmed with its intricate architecture and priceless décor. Cornelius Vanderbilt II inherited a vast railroad fortune from his father, William Henry Vanderbilt, who in turn had grown the family assets from the fortune he’d inherited from Cornelius I, or the Commodore as he was called. Like other Newport “cottages,” The Breakers would be used from eight to twelves weeks a year during the summer, when members of the Four Hundred (the number that fit into Mrs. Astor’s NY ballroom) escaped the heat and other discomforts of New York City. But although this was merely a vacation house, it was meant to impress—on an immense scale! More than that, as the largest and most ornate house built in Newport up to that time, it conveyed a message to all who laid eyes on it: Cornelius Vanderbilt was the head of the Vanderbilt family; his wife, Alice, was THE Mrs. Vanderbilt, and together they would not be outdone.
Then we have The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida—not a home at all, but a luxury hotel built in the mid-1890s by Henry Flagler. Flagler wasn’t part of a wealthy family dynasty, but worked his way up in industry to become the founder of Standard Oil. It’s important to note that initially, he had little interest in railroads. He found his way to Florida when his first wife became ill and her doctor recommended the warm, sunny climate. Flagler fell in love with the unspoiled beaches and subtropical environment and began exploring the coastline. It was when he saw Florida’s potential as a playground for the rich and began building his grand hotels, that railroads became important to him—as a way to transport his guests from one end of Florida to the other.
Neither Breakers we see today is the original structure. In Newport, the original Breakers was a wood-framed Victorian that caught fire in 1892 and burned to the ground. Flagler’s original Breakers was also a wood structure and burned in 1903. But while the Vanderbilts rebuilt their summer cottage only once and it still stands today (they went with stone and marble the second time around), The Breakers Palm Beach burned again in 1925. While this Breakers was being rebuilt for yet a third time, the Gilded Age in Newport was already beginning its decline, with a number of the grand mansions of the previous century falling prey to the wrecking ball. And while The Breakers Newport is now a museum owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County, The Breakers Palm Beach, modeled after Villa Medici in Rome, continues to play the gracious host to vacationers year-round.
I’m happy to say I’ve passed through the magnificent halls and tread the marble floors of both Breakers and have heard, in the rarified air beneath those soaring ceilings, the whispers of past glories and achievements. Both Breakers are monuments of what the American spirit is capable of, each a culmination of dreams combined with hard work, steely determination, intelligence and, yes, a certain amount of greed, but the kind in which opportunities are created for those with the courage to grab hold.
Have you been to either Breakers? What were your impressions? If you haven’t been, are there houses in your area that harken back to America’s Gilded Age? Comment for a chance to win a signed, hardcover copy of my latest Gilded Newport Mystery, Murder at Wakehurst (open to U.S. residents only due to shipping costs.) The winner will be drawn at random. You must comment by midnight EST 8/31.
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Hi. Raquel here. Have I mentioned how much I love that cover?! I can’t wait to read the comments about Gilded Age homes. FYI- coments have to be approved if you are a first time poster. So, don’t fret if you don’t see your comment immediately. I approve comments daily. So, it might take 12-24 hours to appear.
Good morning Raquel, Tara, and Cheryl, thank you all so much for having me on this morning. Yes, Raquel, I love all my covers for this series. The artist is Stephen Gardner and he’s amazing! He tells me he really enjoys doing them.
Excellent review of both houses and fascinating history lesson. I haven’t been to the Breakers mansion in Newport, but I have been to the resort in Palm Beach and been awed by its grandeur.
I have not been to either place (now I am curious about the FL location)
I am hopeful to make a vacation to Newport area in the future!
I haven’t been to either one of the Breakers. I have been to the Biltmore and Hearst Castle, both were amazing in their own way. I love visiting and touring the mansions and historic homes around the country.
This was really interesting. Alas, I haven’t been to these Breakers, although we do have a Gilded Age house here in Montana, in Butte — the Copper King Mansion. I haven’t been there either. I see I need to do some traveling!
PS – That’s a lovely cover on your book!
Nancy, thank you! I was also awed by the Palm Beach Breakers, but also impressed by how friendly and welcoming the staff were to us. I felt like we had the run of the place and explored the public rooms on the first floor and the pool area overlooking the beach. It was quite a fun excursion!
Patricia, like The Breakers Newport, the one in Palm Beach commands breathtaking views of the ocean.
Dianne, I would love to see both of those. I haven’t yet been to the Biltmore, but it’s on my list to go before too many more years go by. George Vanderbilt was the youngest of Cornelius II’s brothers, and managed to outdo the rest of the family in the size and scope of his estate.
Mary, when life returns to normal, I hope you have a chance to see the Copper King Mansion! I’d love to see it, too. Thank you for that compliment on my cover. The artist, Stephen Gardner, has done all my Gilded Newport covers – each one is an amazing job!
Aloha, Alyssa! I love both of your series! My first assignment in the Air Force took me near Boston. I met a group of women who worked in the city … and rented a house every summer in Newport. By day, we explored the mansions. At night, we pub crawled with the sailors at the Naval Station! I grew up in Florida, so I am familiar Mr. Flagler … and his rival, Henry Plant. In fact, I attended the University of Tampa – housed in the Plant Hotel with the minarets! But I have not ventured over to the Breakers on the East Coast. Looking forward to your new book!
I also add the Breakers in Palm Beach looks like the Biltmore in Coral Gables – a suburb of Miami. I grew up in Coral Gables and rode my bike by the Biltmore many times. I love these “old” hotels that exude old world luxury!
Aloha, Kim! First, thank you! I’m glad to hear you’re a fan of both series! I have to admit I’ve never been to the Biltmore in Coral Gables (or the one in North Carolina, for that matter), or the Plant Museum, which is extraordinary with those minarets! Such unusual architecture for Florida! It’s now on my list for the next time we’re up that way. There’s so much in Florida we have yet to see, despite being here for such a long time!
I enjoy finding new series and authors, love the cover!
Thanks, Cathy! I consider myself extremely lucky that artist Stephen Gardner does the artwork for this series!
Fascinating history. I love the Gilded Age, and hope to visit Newport. Would love to read your mystery!
I hope you get there one of these days soon. It’s such an extraordinary place!
Luckily! I’ve had the chance to have been to both of the Breakers mentioned in your wonderful write up that I just read. I’ve lived in CT and MA all my life with Newport being very nearby to some of the towns we were in over the years. We used to vacation in West Palm Beach in the 1980’s and early 1990’s so that is why I’ve been lucky enough to have seen the magnificence of both! When I first learned of Alyssa’s new series in her Gilded Newport books I had to tell her how excited I was to read about a location that actually had a corporate event there that my husband and I were part of and I wanted to share a picture or two of us posing in front of an interesting statue there. Lucky for me, Alyssa continued her series and she and I kept in touch which is the best part of “The Breakers” in Newport. The Gilded Newport series by Alyssa is my very favorite historical mystery series as well!
So happy to have caught this article. Wishing Alyssa much luck and many more books for us all to enjoy! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Cynthia! It was a happy circumstance when you and I connected over our love of Newport! Your support has meant the world to me!
These look like beautiful structured homes and it would have been sad to see them burned. I have never been to this area.
I’m sure it was devastating at the time! But these people had the money to rebuild.
The winner of this month’s book giveaway is Mary Rose! Congrats!