The Search for the Man in the Iron Mask triumphantly solves an enduring
puzzle that has stumped historians for centuries and seduced novelists
and filmmakers to this day. Who was the man who was rumored to have been
kept in prison and treated royally during much of the reign of Louis XIV
while being forced to wear an iron mask? Could he possibly have been the
twin brother of the Sun King? Like every other serious scholar, intrepid
historian Paul Sonnino discounts this theory, instead taking the reader
along on his adventures to uncover the truth behind this ancient enigma.
Exploring the hidden, squalid side of the lavish court of France, the
author uncovers the full spectrum of French society, from humble
servants to wealthy merchants to kings and queens. All had
self-interested reasons to hold their secrets close until one humble
valet named Eustache Dauger was arrested and jailed for decades, simply
because he knew too much and opened his mouth at the wrong time.
Presenting his dramatic solution to the mystery, Sonnino convincingly
shows that no one will be able to tell the story of the man in the iron
mask without taking into account the staggering array of evidence he has
uncovered over the course of decades.