Readers imagine the image of Louis XIII from the novel “The Three Musketeers” by Alexandre Dumas, where the king appears as a minor, semi-caricatured character, a weak-willed puppet in the hands of the all-powerful Cardinal Richelieu. His son, the famous “Sun King,” eclipsed his father, who died early, with his brilliance. However, he went down in history thanks to events that were of much greater significance than the curious incident with Queen Anne’s pendants. Commander, reformer, composer, cook, blacksmith, perfumer - few people in power could boast of such a breadth of interests. His reign was a continuous series of wars, rebellions and conspiracies, and his life was a great drama; he was repeatedly betrayed by those closest to him: his mother, brother, wife. The book by Ekaterina Glagoleva recreates the image of the undeservedly forgotten King Louis the Just, a jack of all trades, whose life story unfolds against a motley backdrop of battles and palace intrigues, spy scandals and violent passions.