La petite maison

by Jean-François de Bastide

Text: French

Genres: 18th Century

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1758

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a central part of my thesis on the relationship between 18th-century architecture and etiquette practices. Basically, "petites maisons" were small pleasure houses often used for illicit affairs by noble persons, but their architectural design reflected proper etiquette which means that their infamous reputation is inaccurate. The descriptions are beautiful, and the book is very, very short. I recommend reading it in French only if you are familiar with many architectural terms.