The Little House: An Architectural Seduction

by Jean-François Bastide, Rodolphe El-Khoury (Translator)

Rodolphe El-Khoury translates and introduces this first English edition of The Little House, a forgotten masterpiece of 18th-century literature. The book is an important but overlooked architectural document, and has become an underground classic among architects and architectural historians. The Little House narrates a plot of seduction as it gradually unfolds in a visit to an architectural and artistic gem—a maison de plaisance in suburban Paris—enacting a tale of seduction, affect, and desire. Princeton Architectural Press's The Little House is the first English edition of La petite maison to be published since the original French edition was released in 1879.

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly disturbing. Bastide underestimates the female voyeuse and portrays her as susceptible to gorging herself on beauty and craftsmanship while being led to her rape/death/doom against all common sense… disappointing…

[Lal Kösematoglu · Rating 4 out of 5]

for lovers of architectural seduction

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A richly laden table of the delights of good taste.

[Zuska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating historical document - reads in these modern times as a kind of charming horror story of how a "man of wit and taste...magnificent and generous, unrivaled in his charm" enters into a "wager" with a virtuous woman, that the sights and sensations of his "petite maison" will cause her to yield to his seduction. It's architecture as aphrodisiac, or meant to be so, but in the end (spoiler alert on this tale from the 18th century), it's essentially forced sexual conquest - man and house overwhelm her resistance. Her last words: "I do not want..." His last words: "I shall obtain..." So much for the architecture of love.

The nice little paperback translation comes along with two erudite scholarly essays that situate this text in historical context (of both architectural writing and seduction narratives).

So, if you liked Fontenelle's "Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds" you may get a kick out of this. And if you haven't read that charming work from 1686, do yourself a favor and read it first.

[JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

This format was apparently popular in the early 18th century. It's written as a story to convey the connection between architecture and seduction. The introductory analysis describes it as eroticism, but the nuances are very subtle, and French. Other critiques debate whether it was really just about architecture. It certainly is about that, with several references to designers and sculptors on every page. And they are all contemporaries of the time, not ones you'd know today unless you'd majored in the period. What I liked most was the interaction between the two characters. The storyline involves a coquette increasingly open to romance as she becomes immersed in the high art and sensory pleasures that surround her. It's a fun read if for no other reason than exposure to a niche style of historical writing, but neither is it a must read.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

An odd little book of 18th C. France that combines the genres of architectural precis and libertine novella, which ends up in something that sounds a lot like an advertising campaign for a contemporary luxury goods company.