In life he was sentenced to a horrible fate; in death his identity and the reason for his punishment remains a mystery.

For 34 years, he was shut away in the French prison of Pignerol, doubly locked behind the prison walls and a heavy iron mask that kept his face hidden. Some 300 years after his death, the identity of this tragic figure remains a mystery, even as the world’s leading historians have examined every aspect of his unbelievable tale.

The Man in the Iron Mask is a captivating look at one of history’s enduring riddles. Why did Louis XIV who presided over the most lavish court in Europe condemn the unknown prisoner to this living death? Was he the king’s illegitimate son, or even his twin brother?

Explore the details of his solitary existence: he was allowed to hear mass, but forbidden contact with any of the prison guards except his own personal jailer. And hear the sometimes surprising theories of past and present scholars about his crime and identity.

From the rumors that swept the 17th century court to the latest theories and discoveries, this is the astonishing tale of The Man in the Iron Mask.