Royal Palaces and Parks of France

Milburg Francisco MansfieldProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.3
Word count
459K words
Chapters
46

Tags

English Originals Architecture Human GeographyIllustrated GuideTravel GuideTraditional AestheticsExotic Culture

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971, and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Royal Palaces and Parks of France by M. F. Mansfield. Author: Mansfield, M. F. (Milburg Francisco), 1871-. Language: English. Class: NA: Fine Arts: Architecture. Release Date: Jun 19, 2008

Editor's review

This book by Mansfield is an English-language work on the architecture and art of French royal palaces and gardens, released as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. Taking the royal palaces and parks of France as its thread, it introduces their architectural layout, garden design, and historical background, making it a suitable primer for understanding French court architecture and landscape art. The writing is descriptive and introductory in nature, and the language is English, so readers can encounter both architectural terminology and historical-cultural context as they read. The electronic edition is easy to obtain and works well as background reading before a trip or as supplementary material for a course in architectural history. Because the book was written long ago, some information and viewpoints bear the mark of their era; readers are advised to consult modern sources alongside it rather than treat it as the sole authoritative guide.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Begin by browsing the table of contents and jump to chapters by palace or garden theme rather than reading every page in order
  2. While reading, consult maps or on-site photographs to build a sense of space and geography
  3. Jot down architectural terms as you encounter them and check them against an architectural dictionary or online resources
  4. If using the book to prepare for a trip, focus before departure on the chapters relevant to your destination

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English? This is an English-language work, published as an electronic edition by Project Gutenberg. The book contains many proper nouns related to French palaces and gardens, so readers with some foundation in English reading are advised; a dictionary or translation tool can help when needed.
Is the architectural information in the book still reliable today? The book was written long ago, and some details of current building conditions, visiting information, and research findings have changed. It remains useful as an introduction to historical background and artistic styles, but specifics such as dates and figures should be checked against modern publications or official sources.
Can I read it without a background in architecture? Yes. The book is largely descriptive rather than a strictly professional treatise. General readers can treat it as cultural essays, skipping or looking up technical terms as needed without losing their grasp of the overall character of the palaces and gardens.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Milburg Francisco Mansfield Author · American · 1871

M. F. Mansfield (Milburg Francisco Mansfield, born 1871) was an American travel writer and publisher, with 13 works held in this collection. He often wrote under the pen name Francis Miltoun and collaborated with his wife, the artist Blanche McManus, on a number of illustrated travel books. His subjects centre on the historic architecture and townscapes of Europe, especially the cathedrals, castles and royal palaces and parks of France and the Rhine region. He also wrote literary-themed rambles through Paris and London, as well as an account of travelling through Italy by motor car. These books combine architectural observation, historical anecdote and travel impressions with illustrations, aimed at general readers, and are representative of early twentieth-century English-language travel writing. Public information about his life is limited, and his reputation rests chiefly on these illustrated travel works.