Customer Reviews

Versailles: A Biography of a Palace

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Versailles: A Biography of a Palace by Tony Spawforth is an architectural history quite different from most of the dull, dry ones. This book is filled with true stories of incidents within Versailles told by its inhabitants, from servants to kings and queens. The history of place is derived not only from facts and descriptions but also from writings of people who actually lived there or helped work on the palace and gardens. This is really interesting, sort of like eves-dropping on a wicked plot or an unlawful tryst, or the collapse of a kingdom, for which the palace itself plays a huge part as the culprit. The book is fun to read, captivating, and will fill your mind with images of an unbelievably decadent and lavish lifestyle, long-gone forever. You'll find this an interesting read.

The expansive title and good press that accompanied this book promised an interesting history of the palace of Versailles. Unfortunately it reads more along the lines of an abridged version of the Memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon. While there are numerous anecdotes of the various people that lived at Versailles, they can be read elsewhere in greater detail with more relevance to their significance to society and history. There is no order to what is written, and while the author jumps back and forth across decades, the focus is primarily that of the reign of Louis XIV. There is little or no mention of Marly or the evolution of the Trianons under Louis XIV, the petits appartments of Louis XV, the Petit Trianon, Hamlet, and gardens of Marie Antoinette much less the inventiveness that accompanied their creation. There is little history post revolution that could include fascinating stories from Napoleon through the end of WWI. The history that would complement and illustrate the lives of the people that made Versailles the center of European culture for decades is lacking. Surely there are better books that capture these details and tell a more complete story of Versailles. Unfortunately this is not one of them as it never appears to aspire to be more than what the Duc de Saint-Simon saw and wrote about in his lifetime.

This is not a "coffee table" picturebook of Versailles. There are plenty of those to be had. What's been missing from the literature on this subject has been a book that explains the workings of the palace, its social and political context and the routines and rhythms of day-to-day life in what was, essentially, an enormous gilded cage for the French nobility. This book begins to fill that niche. My only complaint would be that the author could have included a few more architectural drawings to illustrate the evolution of the palace and the changing arrangement of rooms over the reigns of the three kings of France who lived in Versailles. These developments are discussed in interesting detail, but the effect is diminished without a visual to assist the reader. Overall, a very good and interesting read.

Everything you ever wanted to know about living in this palace and then some. The book covers the hygeine or lack of it; the expenses and stressors of placing yourself in the Kings' company; the political importance of the location of assigned apartments--the scandals, what more can be squeezed into this space by a review? Buy this book--I had a hard time putting it down.

I like to recommend books I have greatly enjoyed or from which I've learned a lot. But I find that reviewer Michael Bishop (1/5/09) has said pretty much exactly what I would have said. So I would just like to second his comments. This is a book about how Versailles actually functioned as a working palace over 150 years. It is fascinating to read about how the arrangements changed over time in response to events, personalities, and changing fashions and circumstances. There are also wonderful tidbits on almost every page (Louis XIV had a private museum in which, among other things, he kept the Mona Lisa. And when the fashions changed, Louis XV sent much of the furniture of Louis XIV to be auctioned. Imagine!) Much of the interest of the book lies in the explanation of practicalities--how so many people were housed, fed, dressed, entertained, and lodged (nor is the sanitation left unexamined).

Like Mr. Bishop, I would have found more maps helpful, but this book was a treat and can be recommended for anyone interested in the grandeur of the palace, the workings of the palace, or the glorious, complex history associated with it.

These days, more often than not, I tend to explore from the confines of my chair. While I dream of seeing the extravagant and faraway, I also want to understand what I am looking at as well, and for that, I turn to books on history and art. When I saw an alert pop up for this volume by Tony Spawforth, I knew it was one that I had to read.

Versailles: A Biography of a Palace takes the unique tactic of looking at an archetectural marvel as an entity in and of itself, and treats it as a living, breathing creature. From the earliest days of Versailles as a tiny village near a royal hunting lodge to the present day, Spawforth chronicles the chaotic history, from the grand dreams and vision of Louis XIV to the days of the French revolution and finally, the precarious rebirth and restoration efforts of today. He uses contemporatory journals, diaries, letters, paintings, and the palace and buildings itself to allow the reader to walk in the gilded corridors and breathtaking state rooms to the not-so-appealing attics and hidden places where so much intrigue and living took place.

Spawforth begins with Louis XIII, and like all Bourbon kings of France, a great lover of hunting. The small village of Versailles, about twelve miles to the west of Paris, and convenient to the then royal palace of St. Germain-en-Laye, was perfect for the king to slip away and enjoy the chase with his courtiers and cronies. But it was Louis XIV, his son, who took a swampy backwater and turned it into the centre for European culture and spectacle for more than a century.

Haivng endured a childhood that was turbultent from revolts from his nobility and a certain sense of insecurity, Louis XIV developed a sense of political astuteness and a love of showmanship, and used it to bring the nobility of France to heel. By creating an aura of exclusivity, and the use of grand festivals that required the nobility to spend money on attiring themselves in the finest array and comsumption of luxury goods, the Sun-King (as Louis XIV has come to be known as) managed to stop the nobles from spending money on private armies and potential rivals. It also created a market for France's textile workers and artisans, and in Versailles showcased the talent that France had to bear. The king also showed his dominion over nature by diverting rivers for waterworks, flattening and rearranging forests and hills, and creating a paradise that provided bounty for those who came.

But there was also a downside to all of this magnificent. Servants and courtiers intrigued for positions and favour with the monarchs, using bribes, gossip, and whatever else they could to gain the notice of kings and their consorts. Lavish sums were raised, and helped along by the custom of the nobility being exempt from taxation -- a situation that helped to fuel the later Revolution that brought down Louis XVI and his queen, Marie-Antoinette.

The book explores the living conditions -- rooms and suites were a fiercely competitive goal for everyone -- the question of sanitation and controlling squalor, feeding thousands at the royal table, guarding the royal person, and the desire for ever increasing privacy. One aspect that really struck me was Marie-Antoinette's hunger for privacy, and the creation of private rooms and even locks on her doors -- either to keep her husband out, or to protect a possible romance with Axel Fersen, her rumoured lover. But it also showed a side of monarchy that lived in public, where the rituals of arising in the morning and going to bed at night were attended by the highest in the land. And even queens wracked by the turmoil of childbirth were not allowed to be alone -- it was to make certain that the infant had indeed come from the queen's body -- all with a noisy crush of onlookers and spectactors who were there out of ancient right or mere curiosity.

Spawforth fills the narrative with vignettes of royal misdeeds, an attempted assassination, the ever-changing architecture, and above all, the various personalities that populated the chambers and gardens. I found it to be fascinating reading and one that I recommend to anyone interested in the history of royal France and especially the Sun-king. While there are maps of the village and a splendid reproduction of the grounds of Versailles from 1764 for the endpapers, the biggest fault lays in that there are not more colour photographs in the single insert. I wanted to see more of Versailles' grandeur. But the writing style flows well and coherently, and by exploring various aspects of the palace and grounds in turn, the author is able to tell the story but also keep it from overwhelming the reader and bogging it down.

Overall, highly recommended, and a good leaping off point for looking at the sociology of royalty. Four and a half stars, rounded up to five.

Fascinating and eye opening. The discussions of dining, manners, and political-diplomatic protocol are as bizarre as any science fiction, or lost civilization. The gossip, however, is right up to date. The closing chapters, too, are especially poignant as the monarchy loses touch, and revolution is in the air. Louis XVI, in a daze of denial and confusion, nevertheless makes small, but fateful moves, that miraculously save the palace from looting and worse. Thus, the world still possesses the greatest architectural monument to "political spin" to ever play a role in western history.

Being crazy about Versailles, and fascinated by all things related to that era, I thought I would be in love with this book, but there were several chapters that were seriously dry reads. I was expecting more "behind the scenes" palace intrigue, and got a lot more geography of the actually building construction than I was personally interested in. I think I know a lot more about the palace now--which was my goal before taking our trip, but I probably could have skimmed a few chapters (as I had purchased many books to read, and this one slowed me down a bit). I do believe it to be a well-researched book, that examines the palace (and surrounding village) with great attention to detail.

After touring the Palace of Versailles, I returned home eager to read more. This book was great at breathing life into Versailles. However, I gave it four stars because sometimes the timeline didn't seem to connect. Other times, I was given information that seemed on the edge of more, yet that was the all of it. It also wasn't always clear why the book jumped back and forth in time. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I highly recommend it if you have an interest in Versailles. I wish I had read it before touring the palace. Thankfully, I had my iPod and took lots of pictures and video to look at as I read.

If you wished to know how the Palace of Versailles came to be built and the manner in which the occupants lived there, this is the book for you. If you want a book written by an excellent writer whose "charm" infuses the writing, this is the book for you.
The conventional historical details are given in the order of events.
Beyond this, there are snapshots of the actual lives lived within the Palace in each era and phase of its construction.
The author has created a well crafted tapestry of documentation based on actual diary and journal writings of the period. In this way,one can appreciate a fully fleshed set of images and human sensibilities.
For those who have a special interest in French Eighteenth Century History in general and a desire to know more of an indepth "portrait" of the actual characters and those who worked for them and how they lived specifically, this volume will be enormously enriching.
Finally, the author is first-rate. This is not a fluff or coffee table book. It is also very acessable and not scholarly to the point of being a cool calculated breakdown of events. The author has an elegant sense of humor and some related "tidbits" should be amusing to the reader. For example, not many books on Versailles tell you about the "bathroom facilities" or where everyone lived in the Palace if you were not the King or Queen themselves. My most marked response is having a sense of the "personalities" of the actual people of the period. My most delightful response was having a sense of the "personality" of the writer, who seems happy to relate the story and never to be pedantic. I felt I had spent a lovely time with him in a quiet place and shared in his extraordinay knowledge of his subject. I loved this book and hated for it to end. I would purchase anything written by Tony Spawforth. I would love to meet him. When writing is this good you feel uplifted and pleased not to have wasted a single minute of your time.

Thomas Lee Randleman