This is not a reassessment of the reign of Louis XIV; those are plentiful enough. This book is in many ways complementary to them, using contemporary quotations to show how the king was seen at the time and presenting him as the inspirer and enabler of creative artists of many kinds.
Louis XIV also faces the judgement of posterity as the warrior king who first had all Europe at his feet and then faced the long sequence of defeats by the combined brilliance of Marlborough and Eugene. Louis' love of the art of war brought France into humiliation; his love the arts and peace gave France her position as the cultural centre to which all Europe looked.
