She has one last chance to prove she chose the right course for her life. In 1908, young Dorothy Tuckerman chafes under the bland, beige traditions of her socialite circles. Only the aristocracy’s annual summer trips to The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia spark her imagination. In this naturally beautiful place, an unexpected romance with an Italian racecar driver gives Dorothy a taste of the passion and adventure she wants. But her family intervenes, sentencing Dorothy to the life she hopes to escape. Thirty-eight years later, as World War II draws to a close, Dorothy has done everything a woman in the early twentieth century should not: she has divorced her husband—scandalous—and established America’s first interior design firm—shocking. Now, Dorothy returns to The Greenbrier with the assignment to restore it to something even greater than its original glory. With her beloved company’s future hanging in the balance and brimming with daring, unconventional ideas, Dorothy has one more chance to give her dreams wings or succumb to her what society tells her is her inescapable fate. Based on the true story of famed designer Dorothy Draper, The Grand Design is a moving tale of one woman’s quest to transform the walls that hold her captive. “Five Stars!” —Carleton Varney, president of Dorothy Draper & Company, Inc. “As captivating and confident as the heroine at its center.” —Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Veil “Full of luscious details of fashion and luxury!” —Kelly O’Connor McNees, author of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott “A dazzling, intimate portrait.” —Louise Claire Johnson, author of Behind the Red Door “Historical fiction at its finest!” —Elyssa Friedland, author of Last Summer at the Golden Hotel Historical novel centered around America’s first female interior designer Stand-alone novel Book length: 109,000 words Includes discussion questions for book clubs

* This book is the first title to reveal the interior spaces as well as other buildings on the grounds of the famous Greenbrier Hotel* Never-seen-before sketches and vintage color photographs from Dorothy Draper's archive of the redesign of the hotel, with behind the scenes anecdotes from international designer Carleton Varney, who has made his own mark on the hotel, and new photography by Michel ArnaudIn 1946 (after a stint as a World War II military hospital), quintessential American decorator Dorothy Draper was brought in to restore the Greenbrier hotel. She created a signature look - described at the time as 'Romance and Rhododendrons' - that has influenced and delighted not only designers and decorators but also travelers, weary of the gray and beige color schemes that permeate most hospitality properties even now. Draper transformed the interiors with bold colors, classical influences and modern touches.When Carleton Varney arrived in Mrs. Draper's office in 1961 to work as an assistant in the design department, one of his first tasks was to accompany the design icon by train to one of her most well-known and publicised projects. Since that time, he has been involved with every aspect of the hotel's design, maintaining and continuing the look that Draper designed, as well as modernizing, upgrading and putting his own stamp on it. Working with his experienced and innovative team, Varney has turned the historic hotel into a resort for the 21st century.

This study combines the names of settlers from the original 1772-1775 Botetourt County courthouse records with the latest thinking on the conditions and events in the contemporary counties of Monroe, Summers, Greenbrier, and southern Pocahontas,West Virginia.This first permanent settlement included 583 families on an average 200 acre tract, and these were arrayed in 19 diffuse communities along 60 miles of the Greenbrier Valley. These adventurous souls found arable land, conditioned by thousands of years of Native American occupation, but vacated because the original populations were decimated by European diseases. The remaining Native Americans were defeated in Dunmore's War, which included 288 militia troops from this area who performed thediverse functions of ranging, fort-building, as well as fighting at the Battle of Point Pleasant.Contemporary accounts of life on the frontier are also discussed and 132 products available at the Mathews Trading Post are listed, as are the 24 natural remedies used to treat the afflictions experienced on the frontier.The Greenbrier Valley is special because it was a gateway through the rugged Allegheny Mountains. Many descendants of these early settlers are now dispersed across the country but return here to discover their roots.