Intelligent, authoritative, and often surprising, a biography of the most famous of French monarchs, by an acclaimed biographer and historian. Louis XIVs story has all the ingredients of a Dumas classic: legendary beginnings, beguiling women, court intrigue, a mysterious prisoner in an iron mask, lavish court entertainments, the scandal of a mistress who was immersed in the dark arts, and a central character who is handsome and romantic, but with a frighteningly dark side to his character. Louis believed himself to be semidivine. His self-identification as the Sun King, which was reflected in iconography of the sun god, Apollo, influenced every aspect of Louiss life: his political philosophy, his wars, and his relationships with courtiers and subjects. As a military strategist, Louiss capacity was debatable, but he was an astute politician who led his country to the heights of sophistication and power and then had the misfortune to live long enough to see it all crumble away. As the sun began to set upon this most glorious of reigns, it brought a gathering darkness filled with the anguish of dead heirs, threatened borders, and a populace that was dangerously dependent upon but greatly distanced from its king.