The Chateaux of the Loire (Hardcover)

~ Pierre Miquel (Author), Jean-Baptiste Leroux (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A sumptuous and definitive record of provincial France's world-famous jewel in the crown.

The magnificent chateaux that line the valley of northern France's Loire River, one of Europe's top tourist meccas, have been endlessly celebrated. But never has their timeless beauty been caught in color photographs whose extraordinary quality will make The Chateaux of the Loire as much a landmark as the castles themselves. These twenty-five range from medieval fortresses rising sheer above town streets, near Joan of Arc's Orleans, to grand Renaissance palaces and formal gardens built for pomps and pampered entertainments. Word and image match the drama of each chteau's past to the particularities of its architecture and its regional context, evoking history's parade of royalty and peasantry, merchants, and armies. The Chateaux of the Loire is a glorious gift for anyone who plans to see these wonders or, having once seen, can never forget them.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Studio (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670886440
• ISBN-13: 978-0670886449
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 10 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,690,896 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glorious! A 16:9 photographic book..., January 29, 2000

By	IOANNIS DIMITROULIS (ZOGRAFOS, ATHENS GREECE) - See all my reviews

I have seven books on the Loire Chateaux's. This one became my favourite! It has good texts and glorious photographs of the castles, including magnificent photos of Chambord (but of lesser known castles, also). It is a truly photographic book with panoramic photos! I would say that it is a 16:9 book that offers to the eye the pleasure of the Chateaux of the Loire. I strongly recommend it...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing at best, May 24, 2006

By	V. Popescu - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Usually I'm balanced when writing reviews but this book has so many weak points that one star is too much perhaps.
The idea of having very large photos printed on both pages is nice, but they are mixed with 2X2 inches photos (per page!) so there is a lot of space waste. There are plenty of huge page-consuming photos in which there is no castle! Just the riverbank at sunset and maybe some small village in the background! And when it comes to presenting beautiful castles, like Blois, there are only 3 photos (one small, presenting a brick patterns and other 2, totally irrelevant). For Chambord, another marvel, there are 5 photos: 3 of them are from the same angle, just at different times of day, one is at dusk and completely obscured by trees, and another one which I don't remember now. The marvelous staircase or the intricate details of terraces are not to be found. And then there is the text: superficial and completely insufficient.
Look somewhere else for a better presentation of the castles, you will learn nothing from this one.