A vivid, dramatic, and eye-opening historical narrative, The Man in the Iron Mask reveals the story behind the most enduring mystery of Louis XIV’s reign. The Man in the Iron Mask has all the hallmarks of a thrilling adventure story: a glamorous and all-powerful king, ambitious ministers, a cruel and despotic jailor, dark and sinister dungeons— and a secret prisoner. It is easy for forget that this story, made famous by Alexandre Dumas, is that of a real person, Eustache Danger, who spent more than thirty years in the prison system of Louis XIV’s France—never to be freed. This narrative brings to life the true story of this mysterious man and follows his journey through four prisons and across decades of time. It introduces the reader to those with whom he shared his imprisonment, those who had charge of him, and those who decided his tragic fate. The Man in the Iron Mask reveals one of the most enduring mysteries of Louis XIV’s reign; but it is, above all, a human story. Using contemporary documents, this book shows what life was really like for state prisoners in seventeenth-century France—and offers tantalising insight into why this mysterious man was arrested and why, several years later, his story would become one of France’s most intriguing legends that still sparks debate and controversy today.

Aramis, a shrewd soldier, and a priest has plans for the prisoner’s escape. He has some motive himself for carrying out this act. Will he be able to release the esteemed prisoner and what will become of his fate when the King learns of this manipulation?

Published to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the death of the prisoner at the Bastille, this account of the mystery of "the man behind the iron mask" presents all the known facts of the prisoner's existence chronologically as they have been discovered.

Oxford historian Roger Macdonald has spent five years unravelling fact from fiction to uncover the true story of the Musketeers and their connection with the Man in the Iron Mask. It is a reality more extraordinary than any tale Dumas could devise. Honour and heroism, betrayal and intrigue, are set amidst the lust, jealousy and deadly poisons that made the Sun King's court a world of frenzied paranoia. The Musketeers ride again across the pages of real history in this superbly researched account, and in his exciting denouement Macdonald at last reveals the identity of the Man in the Iron Mask.

Legends of the Bastille is a book by Frantz Funck-Brentano. The Bastille was a fortress in Paris used as a state prison. Stormed by a crowd during the French Revolution in the late 18th century, it became a symbol for the republic and also for having imprisoned several notable French freethinkers.