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. There has been speculation, romantic literature, and analysis of all sorts over the years, with countless novels and theories by the likes of Voltaire, Pagnol and Jung. Most of the details that have come down to us are strictly flights of fancy. But the story wasn't manufactured from whole cloth. There really was a man in a mask.
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