"The behind-the-scenes story of the world's most famous palace,
painting a picture of the way its residents truly lived and
examining the palace's legacy, from French history through
today
"
The story of Versailles is one of historical drama, under the
last three kings of France's old regime, mixed with the high camp
and glamour of the European courts, all in an iconic home for the
French arts. The palace itself has been radically altered since
1789, and the court was long ago swept away. "Versailles" sets out
to rediscover what is now a vanished world: a great center of
power, seat of royal government, and, for thousands, a home both
grand and squalid, bound by social codes almost incomprehensible to
us today.""
Using eyewitness testimony as well as the latest historical
research, Spawforth offers the first full account of Versailles in
English in over thirty years. Blowing away the myths of Versailles,
he analyses afresh the politics behind the Sun King's construction
of the palace and shows how Versailles worked as the seat of a
royal court. He probes the conventional picture of a "perpetual
house party" of courtiers and gives full weight to the darker side:
not just the mounting discomfort of the aging buildings but also
the intrigue and status anxiety of its aristocrats. The book brings
out clearly the fateful consequences for the French monarchy of its
relocation to Versailles and also examines the changing place of
Versailles in France's national identity since 1789.
Many books have told the stories of the royals and artists
living in Versailles, but this is the first to turn its focus on
the palace itself---from architecture and politics to scandal and
restoration.
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