Maurice Ashley evaluates how a determined, conscientious King Louis XIV was able to raise France to its greatest glory while plunging its people into deep misery.

Maurice Ashley presents the life of Louis XIV, both as a man and a ruler, with attention on the explanation for a splendid age that nevertheless harbored the earliest roots of the French Revolution.

From his ill-considered foreign policies, his refusal to tolerate the slightest compromise of his royal absolutism, and his total suppression of every deviation from strictly Roman Catholic orthodoxy, Ashley presents a complete review of Louis’ impact on France and its people.