To look behind the scenes of the life of Louis XIV, a monarch with whom so many cliches are associated, and to give an impression of real life behind the red velvet curtain - that is what the biography of Sven Externbrink wants to do. This book is not only addressing historians, but also those who are interested in history and want to understand an era very different to ours. The book breaks with the traditional chronological representation of a life, beginning with birth and ending with death. Instead, we look at the Sun King from various perspectives, beginning firstly with his person, secondly with the life of his contemporaries, his subjects, the structures of the monarchy and Ludwig's government, and thirdly with Ludwig and Europe. In between, miniatures are inserted, in which key events of his life are closely looked at.