The French Chateau: Life, Style, Tradition [Paperback]

Christiane De Nicolay-Mazery (Author), Christiane De Nicolai-Mazery (Author), Jean-Bernard Naudin (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2001

The French Chateau provides a privileged view into the special world that lies within France's grand historical houses, a view hitherto afforded only to a selected circle of the French aristocracy and their friends. These stately residences are not dusty uninhabited museums, but real homes. Christiane de Nicolay-Mazery, herself born and brought up in her family's magnificent property at Montfort-le-Rotrou, takes us across France to visit the great chateaux she knows so well, giving us an intimate view of the unique way of life that goes on in them through the seasons. In the spring we attend a wedding at Jean de Beistegui's Chateau de Groussay. We see the drawing-rooms, bedrooms, linen-room, hot-house and orangery of Le Lude in the company of the Comtesse de Nicolay. In summer we visit the Chateau d'Haroue in Lorraine as guests of the Princesse de Beauvau-Craon. In autumn we follow the hunt with the Marquis and Marquise de Brissac, returning for dinner to the Chateau de Brissac. Baron Eric de Rothschild opens his cellars to us at Chateau Lafite. We celebrate the onset of winter with a boar hunt at the Chateau de Courances, lunching in the forest in the company of the Marquis and Marquise de Ganay. The lustrous colour photographs of Jean-Bernard Naudin capture all the beauty and charm of these chateaux and the elegant lifestyle of their inhabitants.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The subtitle aptly depicts the content of this photo essay, which reveals intimate details of family life in the French chateau of today. We are invited inside the princely residences of several contemporary French families to catch a glimpse of their way of life. No architectural odyssey this; often we're not even shown a picture of the chateau itself. But what treasures await us inside! A cook ushers us into the kitchen, a maid takes us on a tour of the linen room, a butler allows us to view the china cabinet. Then we sit down to dinner with crystal goblets ablaze from the candles illuminating the entire room. Naudin's dazzling photographs also lead us outside to the kitchen gardens, a hunt, and a formal wedding. Though anecdotal historical commentary is provided for each chateau, a fairy-tale quality pervades these settings; often, we don't even know their location on the map. Recommended for readers who enjoy a look at the good life.
- Edward B. Cone, New York
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500282714
• ISBN-13: 978-0500282717
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #995,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A life to dream of, November 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The French Chateau: Life, Style, Tradition (Paperback)

If you love French history, art, decoration and life style; if you have ever dreamed of living in a beautiful French chateau, you must get this book. Each time I open this book I am enchanted. What makes this book especially interesting is that people still live in these chateaus, these dreamscapes of tall Mansart roofs, formal French gardens and rooms filled with 18th century furniture. Forget about the text, it's the ravishingly photographed gardens and interiors that inspire one to dream. Beyond the sheer fantasy of it, this book showed me how I could create a little of the "French Chateau Style" in my own humble living space.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The French Chateau: Life, Style, Tradition, June 9, 2006

By 

Another reader (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The French Chateau: Life, Style, Tradition (Paperback)

Christiane De Nicolay-Mazery is a fabulous author with fabulous connections. I'm an interior designer & I find Christiane De Nicolay-Mazery's books to be the most inspirational decorating books that I own. One of her other books, 'Private Houses of Paris', is my favorite book on the topic of decorating and I own almost every significant book published on this topic. I do wish that this book was available in hardback, as I prefer hardback books, but this fact should not dissuade you in purchasing it because inspirational design is absolutely on every page of this book!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars French Chateau Home Life, March 27, 2007

By 

Wine Babe (Los Gatos, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The French Chateau: Life, Style, Tradition (Paperback)

An unusual and beautifully published book that profiles privately-owned chateaux, inside and out. It gives you an intimate view of life within the rooms, formal and informal, utility and casual, garden and forest. Family and friends are included from a respectable distance, showing weekend sporting activities and day to day life. Snobbish? Unapproachable? Not really. Think of it as a personable Architectural Digest a la Francaise, with much more panache.