Very well researched book. I loved it. I am completly fascinated by the french court and this book was easy to read, very interesting .

Having read a more extended biography on Louis XIV last year by Richard Wilkinson, stung by further curiosity on certain facets and topics (like Jansenism, the ballet and the arts), to my own amazement I found myself slowly developing an ongoing fascination for the man and his times, which brought me to read another book devoted to him, to refresh my memory before embarking on another recent more comprehensive biography which was received favourably, namely Johan Op de Beeck’s De Zonnekoning.Glorie & schaduw van Lodewijk XIV. This little volume by the writing duo Aurora von Goeth and Jules Harper largely served that purpose.

Louis XIV, the Real Sun King is a laid-back and compact introduction on the monarch and provides a quick overview of some basic facts of his life and extraordinary long reign (72 years), thematically structured around nine chapters following more or less chronologically Louis XIV’s life (ancestry and birth, boyhood and rise to sun kingliness, loves, art, fashion and court culture, wars, Versailles, health issues and last days).
A nice feature of the book are the numerous illustrations of engravings and paintings, picturing Louis XIV, his relatives and battle scenes, as well as other artefacts and medals which reveal the impressive propaganda machinery in function of his gloire (mostly from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Washington). As the illustrations are well contextualised and clarified they make an edifying addition to the text.

While starting off promising, the narrative when proceeding gets rather uneven in expanding relatively lengthily on what seem minor anecdotes when having to capture a life of this stature in such a slim volume (for instance taking two pages to elaborate on two similar anecdotes to illustrate how the normally so self-controlled Louis could lose his temper in a dining or family context, describing a fight with his brother Philippe de France, the Duke of Orléans, ‘Monsieur’), and so wasting precious space to cover more meaningful events or insights on his reign. The authors – Von Goeth according to her website displays a special interest in and has a weak spot for Louis’s only brother, the ‘adorable’ Philippe de France (and his lover the Chevalier de Lorraine) which is pretty obvious from the text - concentrate on Louis XIV’s relatives rather than on his ministers or other prominent figures circling around the king. Particularly the chapters handling the Chateau de Versailles, art, music, dance, fashion, and French court culture - which would become of great influence in Europe - are informative and in their brevity finely done. It would be unfair to compare the short bibliography for further reading with the extensive list Wilkinson included, however I thought it remarkable that from the standard bibliographies Wilkinson recommends only one appears here, Antonia Fraser’s Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King– Wilkinson’s book, though published recently, isn’t mentioned either.

More matter-of-fact and less juicy (apart from a few digressions like the story how Louis XIV got introduced in love by One-Eyed Catherine and mentioning even more mistresses) than the Richard Wilkinson biography I read last year (of which the jesting tone and particularly his condescending approach of Louis XIV’s mistresses at times enervated me), if you don’t expect a critical approach on the monarch and neither look for more profound insight into the nature of absolutism or the religious issues of the time nor mind the anecdotical take and here and there somewhat babbling tone (to summarise Europe in the seventeenth century: ‘It was all a bit of a mess and got even messier when the exiled James II of England died’) as a short introduction the book is not without merit and as such recommendable.

This is an excellent concise biography of Louis XIV of France. Jules Harper and Aurora von Goeth provide a thoroughly engaging and accessible account of his life and times and highlight just how pivotal King Louis XIV was in Europe. It gives us the basic facts about his reign and gives a foundation of knowledge to build upon if you so wish. I particularly enjoyed learning about the King's relationships with women 0 he was quite the ladies man it seems!

Another well written and excellently researched book from Pen & Sword. The illustrations really compliment the narrative and the bibliography is a very useful little feature which I will be using to choose another title in order to further my knowledge of this influential King.

Many thanks to Pen & Sword History for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

his book was a little dull at first, but it soon livened up with the account of Louis's fascinating love life, with the beautiful Mancini sisters and Louise de Valliere, who seemed to be having affairs one minute and guiltily rushing to church the next. There are chapters devoted to every aspect of the great French king's life, including his patronage of the arts, his wars, and the building of the magnificent Versailles Palace. It is clearly and simply written but an interesting read.



While Louis XIV was undoubtedly a despot, he could be quite enlightened. There is evidence that he refused the offer to use a biological weapon, for example. Louis thought that 'the means of destroying life were sufficiently numerous', and paid the chemist who made the discovery to keep it to himself. The great king was also the first to introduce an award for 'exceptional officers' of the military which could also be granted to non-nobles. He also founded a large home and hospital for aged and wounded soldiers, an idea which is also a good one for our times.



The French king still has a huge influence today, through music, comedy, dance and his splendid palace. He is an endlessly riveting object of study, and this book is an excellent addition to the collection.



I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

An interesting and compact biography of the Sun King. A good starting book, with a lot of great pictures.
Strongly recommended to those who want to start reading about Louis XIV.
Many thanks to Pen & Sword and Netgalley for this ARC

Louis XIV: The Real Sun King is an engaging, quick little biography of the famous French monarch. In just 144 pages it doesn't go into great detail, but it gives an enticing overview of his life and times and offers a bibliography with suggested further reading for those keen to delve deeper. This would, therefore, be a fine starting point for those wishing to research or just learn more about Louis XIV. The extensive illustrations are a lovely addition, breaking up the text and offering a visual representation of the people and events. Overall, this is a fine introductory text.

This is a lovely compact biography of Louis XIV of France. The great aspect and selling point of this book is that it provides a readable comprehensive foundation on the life of Louis XIV. If you like the period or want to know more about France and Europe at this time, this is the perfect place to start. This was a king to whom the entire history of Europe pivots, his importance to not just European but modern global history is incalculable. While no book can say everything about him and his age nor should it, we do need to learn the basic facts first about Louis XIV. This book does this with a well written narrative, excellent period illustrations and with a clear factual biography.