In this concise, up-to-date analysis of Louis XIV and France in its great age of cultural achievement, David Sturdy penetrates beneath the well-known events, personalities and images of the reign to gain an understanding of the historical forces and realities with which Louis XIV and France had to contend. He presents a carefully organized and lucid account of the "defining" aspects of the reign: the nature of French monarchy, methods of government, Louis' relationship to his subjects and to the churches, the organization of cultural life, and France's relations with the rest of Europe.