For five centuries, the château of Chambord has been an emblem of the epic scope and tumultuousness of French history. This chatty, eminently readable history of the château traces the high points and low ebbs of a magnificent monument, beginning with the coup de foudre experienced by François 1er when he first hunted in the forest there as a teenager. Three years into his reign as king, François experienced the first failure of his life when Charles V was named Holy Roman emperor. To compensate, he decided to raze the old hunting lodge at Chambord and build a château grander than any other in Europe. For the next three centuries, Chambord welcomed some of France’s most eminent figures. After the Revolution, the château fell into disrepair, but its surrounding forest remained a popular hunting ground. After World War II, it underwent a major restoration and today is one of the principal tourist attractions in France.
Xavier Patier, author of five prize-winning novels, was the chief administrator of Chambord from 2000 to 2003. A graduate of the École nationale d’administration, he has served in several ministerial cabinets and is presently the head of a large pharmaceutical company.
