The Pied Piper of Hamelin is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany.
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents is a children's fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, published by Doubleday in 2001. It is the twenty-eighth novel in the Discworld series and the first written for children. The story is a new take on the German fairy tale about the Pied Piper of Hamelin and a parody of the folk tale genre.
Bowman-Biltmore Hotels was a hotel chain created by the hotel magnate John McEntee Bowman.
Biltmore Estate is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. The main residence, Biltmore House, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 sq ft (16,622.8 m2) of floor space and 135,280 sq ft (12,568 m2) of living area. Still owned by George Vanderbilt's descendants, it remains one of the most prominent examples of Gilded Age mansions.
A rat-catcher is a person who kills or captures rats as a professional form of pest control. Keeping the rat population under control was practiced in Europe to prevent the spread of diseases, most notoriously the Black Death, and to prevent damage to food supplies. In modern developed countries, such a professional is otherwise known as a pest control operative or pest exterminator.
George Washington Vanderbilt II was an American art collector and member of the prominent Vanderbilt family, which amassed a huge fortune through steamboats, railroads, and various business enterprises. He commissioned the construction of a 250-room mansion, the largest privately owned home in the United States, which he named Biltmore Estate.
The New York Biltmore Hotel was a luxury hotel at 335 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The hotel was developed by the New York Central Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and operated from 1913 to 1981. It was one of several large hotels developed around Grand Central Terminal as part of Terminal City. The Biltmore was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style by Warren and Wetmore, one of the firms involved in designing Grand Central. Although the hotel's steel frame still exists, the hotel itself was almost entirely demolished and replaced by an office building in the early 1980s.
Edith Stuyvesant Vanderbilt Gerry was an American philanthropist and wife of George Washington Vanderbilt II and Peter Goelet Gerry, a United States senator from Rhode Island.
George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil was an American businessman who was the owner and chairman of Biltmore Farms.
Judith Lewis, better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.
The Biltmore Forest School was the first school of forestry in North America. Carl A. Schenck founded this school of "practical forestry" in 1896 on George W. Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina. The school grounds are now part of Pisgah National Forest in Transylvania County, North Carolina, as the Cradle of Forestry in America, a 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) historic site which features exhibits about forestry and forest conservation history.
The Cathedral of All Souls, also referred to as All Souls Cathedral, is an Episcopal cathedral located in Asheville, North Carolina, United States of America. All Souls was built by George Washington Vanderbilt II, the grandson of railroad baron, Cornelius Vanderbilt, in 1896, to serve as the local parish church for Biltmore Village, which had been developed near his Biltmore Estate, and designated as a cathedral in 1995. The Right Reverend José Antonio McLoughlin is the current bishop seated at the cathedral.
Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt, later Cecil, later Bulkely-Johnson, later Goodsir was an American born heiress and member of the Vanderbilt family who inherited the Biltmore Estate. She was known for her eccentric behavior.
Tosca Lee is an American author known for her historical novels and thrillers.
Richard Sharp Smith was an English-born American architect, noted for his association with George W. Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate and Asheville, North Carolina. Smith worked for some of America's important architectural firms of the late 19th century—Richard Morris Hunt, Bradford Lee Gilbert, and Reid & Reid—before establishing his practice in Asheville. His most significant body of work is in Asheville and Western North Carolina, including dozens of buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places or are contributing structures to National Register Historic Districts.
Sherri Browning Erwin is an American novelist, best known for literary mash-ups, paranormal romance, and historical romance.
Serafina and the Twisted Staff is an American historical fiction and fantasy novel written by Robert Beatty and published in 2016. It is the second novel in the Serafina Series and the sequel to Serafina and the Black Cloak. This book continues the spooky adventures of twelve-year-old Serafina, Chief Rat Catcher of the Biltmore Estate, as she works with best-friend Braeden Vanderbilt to save the people and animals of Biltmore and the surrounding forests from a series of sinister attacks. In order to defeat this evil entity before it destroys her home and those she cares about, she must search deep within to discover and embrace the destiny that awaits her.
Serafina and the Splintered Heart is an American historical fiction, fantasy novel written by Robert Beatty and published in 2017. It is the third novel in the Serafina Series and follows Serafina and the Twisted Staff. Serafina, Chief Rat Catcher and protector of the Biltmore Estate, encounters a strange and unnatural force which threatens Biltmore with wicked storms and violent floods. While fiercely fighting a battle that seems impossible, Serafina also faces questions about the value of true friendship and the power of forgiveness.
Robert Beatty is an American technology entrepreneur and author of historical fiction, fantasy novels. He has published 6 books with Disney Hyperion, which have been translated to over 20 foreign languages. Robert Beatty is an executive producer for the television adaptation of Willa of the Wood, which is in the early stages of development.
Alexandra Pierson, known professionally by her pen name Alex Aster, is a Colombian-American young adult author. She is best known for the young adult fantasy series Lightlark, and the middle-grade fantasy series Emblem Island.
