"Waters of Versailles" is a 2015 fantasy novella by Kelly Robson, about plumbing. It was first published by Tor.com.
Synopsis
Sylvain de Guilherand introduces toilets and other aspects of indoor plumbing to the Palais de Versailles during the reign of Louis XV; however, this is complicated by the attitudes of the aristocracy — and by the personality of the captive nixie he is secretly using to power the system.
Reception
"Waters of Versailles" won the 2016 Aurora Award for Short Fiction, and was a finalist for the 2015 Nebula Award for Best Novella and the 2016 World Fantasy Award—Long Fiction.
Jonathan Strahan called it "light, funny, and perceptive", while Gary K. Wolfe considered it to be "clever".
References
External links
Text of the story, at Tor.com
Interview with Robson about "Waters of Versailles", at File 770
2015 short stories
2010s novellas
Works originally published in online magazines
Nixies (folklore) Novellas Cultural depictions of Louis XV Short stories set in France