Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Le Château de Versailles: The Sun King's Domain

Le Château de Versailles: The Sun King's Domain

Peridore, Stephen

Paperback

FranceFrench HistoryGeneral Architecture

ISBN13: 9798197324542
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: May 17 2026
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.67
Height: 0.47 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
This book re-evaluates the Palace of Versailles not as a monument to vanity, but as a sophisticated 'social machine' designed for behavioral control. It explores how Louis XIV used architectural design, landscape geometry, and rigid ritual to neutralize the French nobility and consolidate absolute power. From the 'Enveloppe' strategy that preserved dynastic continuity to the 'Machine de Marly' that forced water to flow uphill, the book details how every square meter of the estate served a political function. It further tracks the palace's decline through the eyes of Marie Antoinette, whose retreat into the 'Hameau' signaled a fatal disconnection from reality, and its eventual rebirth as a national museum. By analyzing the work of architects like Mansart and gardeners like Le Nôtre, the author reveals how Versailles remains a living laboratory for understanding how the environments we inhabit shape who we become. It is a story of engineering, psychology, and the enduring weight of historical legacy.

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