So, you wanna read about...Louis XIV "The Sun King"

I recently received an email from a lovely follower who wanted to know of books that focus on King Louis XIV of France, otherwise known as the Sun King and so I decided to do another So, you wanna read about feature for all of you who would like to know more about this dynamic and intriguing monarch.

To give a little background on Louis XIV, he is one of the longest and most successful reigning monarchs in history. During his 72 year ruling of France he brought culture and art to the country, built the magnificent Palace of Versailles and ruled with an absolute right.  Louis was also known for his charm and good looks and with his two marriages and bevy of spirited mistresses, Louis XIV is most definitely a fascinating historical figure to read about.

Here below are both historical fiction and history/non-fiction titles of books on Louis XIV.

Titles with asterisks are books I've read and recommend...

Historical Fiction

Before Versailles: A Novel of Louis XIV by Karleen Koen (release date:  June 28, 2011)*

Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland*

Louise de la Vallière by Alexandre Dumas

The Courtier's Secret by Donna Russo Morin

Memoirs of a Dwarf: At the Sun King's Court by Paul Weidner

The Oracle Glass by Judith Merkle Riley

Emilie's Voice by Susanne Dunlap

In the Shadow of the Sun King (Darkness to Light Series, Book 1) by Golden Keyes Parsons (Christian HF)

The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas

The French Blue by Richard Wise

The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato

All the King's Ladies by Janice Law

King Louis XIV and Family

History/Non-Fiction

Love and Louis XIV: Women in the Life of the Sun King by Antonia Fraser 

The Secret Wife of Louis XIV: Françoise d'Aubigné, Madame de Mainteno by Veronica Buckley

The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV by Anne Somerset

The Man Who Outshone the Sun King: A Life of Gleaming Opulence and Wretched Reversal in the Reign of Louis XIV by Charles Drazin

The Sun King by Nancy Mitford

Louis XIV by John B. Wolf

The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV by W.H. Lewis

Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency by Duchesse d'Orleans

The Fabrication of Louis XIV by Peter Burke

Louis XIV by Anthony Levi

Louis XIV and Absolutism by William Beik

The Wars of Louis XIV 1667-1714 by John A. Lynn

Louis XIV (Routledge Historical Biographies) by Richard Wilkinson

Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen by Pierre Goubert

Louis XIV by Ian Dunlop

The Triumph of Pleasure: Louis XIV and the Politics of Spectacle by Georgia J. Cowart

A Lust for Virtue: Louis XIV's Attack on Sin in Seventeenth-Century France by Philip F. Riley

Europe in the Age of Louis XIV by Ragnhild Hatton

Sunspots and the Sun King: Sovereignty and Mediation in Seventeenth-Century France by Ellen McClure

Louis XIV and the Parlements: The Assertion of Royal Authority by John J. Hurt

Fanfare for the Sun King by Pamela Cowen

Athenais: The Life of Louis XIV's Mistress, the Real Queen Of France by Lisa Hamilton

Gardener to the King : A Novel by Frederic Richaud

If you've read any of the books mentioned here and can give a recommendation or I left any titles out please let us know in the comments section below.

Thanks and Happy Reading!