REAL ESTATE

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Dunellen's chief charm is its setting on 40 high and rolling Round Hill acres with views both inside and out of the Long Island Sound. A Greenwich broker and blogger writes that he was pleasantly surprised by its pristine condition, having assumed that the care once lavished on the estate—in accordance to the lady of the manor's much-advertised fastidiousness—would have slipped a bit since her passing. With viewings limited to qualified buyers, Ogilvy's online listing pages are the closest most of us will get to judging for ourselves. They reveal a show of grand and formal hallways, staircases and rooms that are architecturally impressive, yes, but a bit civic looking—as if someone tried to make a home out of the New York City Public Library.

More fun are Dunellen's toys: an indoor "winter garden" and pool—as well as a 75-foot outdoor pool and pool house—a wine cellar, a walk-in silver vault, gardens with a koi pond, a tennis court and so on and so forth, all of which make for one of the last intact historic estates in Greenwich. In past years, preservationists have lamented the loss of a dozen truly great homes including, most recently, Greyledge, which was bought for $7.6 million on the merits of its six-acre lot. It was bulldozed last year. Next to go: a stately Belle Haven home that sold for $10.2 million and whose new owners have applied for a demolition permit. Whatever Dunellen's fate, select pieces of the palace will live on: Christies' auction division announced it would start a series of sales of the home's contents later this year.

Another new listing: Rumor has it that the Greenwich home of Gayle King, Oprah Winfrey's best friend forever, may soon go to market. Recently, King paid a reported $7.1 million for an East 57th Street penthouse, an indication that she may leave the 10,000-square-foot estate that actually lists Ms. Winfrey herself as its owner, the New York Observer reports. We'll keep you posted.