--- product_id: 7265585 title: "Versailles: A Biography of a Palace" price: "€ 41.99" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.pt/products/7265585-versailles-a-biography-of-a-palace store_origin: PT region: Portugal --- # Versailles: A Biography of a Palace **Price:** € 41.99 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Versailles: A Biography of a Palace - **How much does it cost?** € 41.99 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pt](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/7265585-versailles-a-biography-of-a-palace) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Called "fast-paced" ( Kirkus Reviews ) and "highly engrossing" ( Publishers Weekly ), this is the behind-the-scenes story of the world's most famous palace. The story of Versailles is one of high historical drama 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. Versailles sets out to rediscover what is now a vanished world: a great center of power and, for thousands, a home both grand and squalid. Using the latest historical research, Spawforth offers the first full account of Versailles in English in over thirty years. He probes the conventional picture of this "perpetual house party" and gives full weight to the darker side: not just the mounting discomfort of the aging palace but also the intrigue and status anxiety of its aristocrats, as well as 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 to politics to scandal to restoration. Review: An Inside Story of Versailles - 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 Review: I've Been Waiting For This Book... - 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. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #397,848 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #46 in Landmarks & Monuments #206 in Architectural History #247 in French History (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 226 Reviews | ## Images ![Versailles: A Biography of a Palace - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81u8yvasnnL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Inside Story of Versailles *by T***N on July 13, 2010* 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 ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I've Been Waiting For This Book... *by M***. on January 5, 2009* 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. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great book *by S***E on July 24, 2024* I am going to Paris for the Olympics and my husband is taking me to Versailles on my birthday. We needed a reservation to go. The book has given me a lot of information on what I’m going to see. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pt/products/7265585-versailles-a-biography-of-a-palace](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/7265585-versailles-a-biography-of-a-palace) --- *Product available on Desertcart Portugal* *Store origin: PT* *Last updated: 2026-10-01*