Versailles: A Biography of a Palace (ST. MARTIN'S GR)

Name: Versailles: A Biography of a Palace (ST. MARTIN'S GR)
Price: 2.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.5 (224 reviews)
Author: Tony Spawforth

by Tony Spawforth

Biography Memoir

4.5 (224)

4.5 stars from 224 reviews

$2.99Deal79% off peak

Last checked: Jul 18, 2026

Price history: $1.99 – $14.15

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Price range: $1.99 – $14.15

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Perfect for you if...

You're fascinated by the French Revolution and want to understand what came before the collapse.
You enjoy architectural history that treats buildings as characters shaped by human ambition and failure.
You appreciate rigorous research that punctures romantic myths with eyewitness details and fresh analysis.

Maybe not for you if...

You want a coffee table book of pretty Versailles photographs rather than serious historical study.
You prefer narrative-driven history told as drama rather than a scholarly but accessible analysis.
You're looking for a focused biography of a single monarch rather than the palace's fuller story across three reigns.

About this book

This biography examines Versailles through its architecture, scandals, politics, and role in French history under the last three kings of the old regime. The palace has been substantially altered since 1789, and its court has long disappeared. The book reconstructs this vanished world—a center of power, seat of royal government, and home to thousands, governed by social codes distant from modern understanding. Using eyewitness accounts and recent historical research, Spawforth provides the first comprehensive English-language account of Versailles in over thirty years. He challenges myths surrounding the palace, reexamines the politics of the Sun King's construction, and analyzes how the court functioned. Beyond the popular image of a perpetual social gathering, the book explores the palace's deteriorating conditions, aristocratic intrigue, and status anxiety. It traces the consequences of the monarchy's relocation to Versailles and examines how the palace has figured in French national identity since the French Revolution. Includes photographs.

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Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

$1.99 – $14.15

Currently on sale at $2.99 — 79% off peak. Price has dropped 11 times over the last 6 years. Goes on sale roughly every 67 days. Typically stays discounted for 128 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

Currently around #52K in the Kindle store — a steady mid-list seller. Climbing the charts — 37% improvement recently.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

Currently 4.5★ from 224 reviews

Gaining approximately 1 new review per month. Rating has remained stable at 4.5 over the tracking period.

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Actual Predicted

This book is currently discounted at $2.99. It typically returns to around $14.15.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.

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