Reading Material: Versailles, Biography of a Palace

Today I recommend the book, Versailles: A Biography of a Palace. It is rather saucy, with interesting details and accounts from those who inhabited the glamorous palace. From the time of the Sun King to Louis XVI, this 'biography' recalls interesting bits of history that took place under the guilt roofs of the Palace. The sheer gossip and juicy stories keep the pages turning.

You will learn that Princesse Lamballe was not so 'featherbrained' as history might recall. There is a discussion on the parties the Duchesse de Polignac threw, and who would use her for gain. In society and in this case, in Versailles, a lover could not show any affection to his mistress - in public that is! When the doors are closed anything goes. When the doors are open, you dare to touch the back of the chair she sits in! There are even bits about which rooms certain people did you-know-what in! If you are one who wishes walls could talk, this book might be the closest thing you will come by.

Here is an excerpt:

"At Versailles chamber pots were common as well, if not universal, and in the eighteenth century, despite attempts to stop the practice, servants on the upper stories frequently emptied them into the interior courts below. The dauphine Marie-Antoinette was once hit as she crossed the kings inner courtyards beneath the numerous windows of the king's mistress, Madame du Barry."

I found this title in the library but it is also available here, on Amazon.com