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The Architecture of Romance
La Maison de Trianon, 1671-1687 (reconstruction) By Christine A. Jones (W&M Contributor) Not long after the construction of the legendary Taj Mahal, Louis XIV built a monument to passion, but it...
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Q&A: Christine A. Jones
As you may have seen, we’re adding some contributors to Wonders & Marvels. We want you to get to know each of them, so we’re planning on doing a Q&A (like the one below) with each new...
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Louis XIV and his Marvelous Legs
Hyacinth Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701 By Christine Jones (Regular Contributor) If you pay attention to portraits of Louis XIV and compare them to those of his descendants you’ll notice a striking feature of...
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A Marvelous Dinner Party
Footed plate for Louis XV’s “service bleu céleste.” Vincennes Manufactory. 1754-5. Boughton House. Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV, had a serious passion for porcelain. She took a leading...
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A Versailles Christmas
Marie Antoinette at Versailles, ornament available at zazzle.com A few years ago I had the pleasure of visiting the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana in Geneva (a must-do for historical bibliophiles), where the...
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The Chocolate Baby
Marquise de Sevigne Chocolates One of the strangest anecdotes to emerge from the already larger-than-life annals of Louis XIV’s reign concerns a perfectly forgettable woman, the Marquise de Coëtlogon,...
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