Le secret du Masque de Fer

The accomplice of Roux, passing for his valet, Martin, and whom Marcel Pagnol in turn identified as the twin brother of Louis XIV, was also arrested and taken to Calais in July 1669, then brought to Pignerol prison under the custody of the governor Saint-Mars, where he remained until 1681.

When Cardinal Richelieu was informed by Louis XIII of the Queen's twin pregnancy, he claimed that the second birth would have to be hidden, as the coexistence of two dauphins would inevitably lead to civil war.

After giving birth, Henrietta of France sent Lady Perronette to the Carteret's, the noblest family on the Jersey island,[7] so their daughter Marguerite could raise the child, being introduced as the son of a young noblewoman.

[23] de Rouvigny denounced an accomplice called Balthazar based in Geneva, and also named the Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo in Spain, King of England Charles II (first cousin of Louis XIV) and his brother the Duke of York as being well aware of the plot and linked with Roux.

[24] In spite of his long meetings with the Duke of York and State Secretary Md Arlington, Roux said he was disappointed by the lack of cooperation of England, reluctant to launch the first attacks on France.

According to Marcel Pagnol, it was with this letter that King Charles II asked his sister Henriette to announce to Louis XIV the arrest of the "valet Martin", who was later taken to Calais as suggested by the ambassador Colbert de Croissy.

Marcel Pagnol concludes the first part of his investigation with the theory that "Roux ... admitted under torture that the leader of the plot was the twin brother of Louis XIV, who should have reigned instead of him, and that this prince, thus deprived of his rights, pretended to be his valet Martin."

This is how Marcel Pagnol believes James was told his true identity, and was sent to Roux who was plotting a massive conspiracy against Louis XIV,[31] as all Charles II's government was well aware.

In a letter dated 26 July 1669, the minister Louvois gives the order to Captain de Vauroy, Major of the citadel of Dunkirk, to take a certain "Eustache Dauger" to the prison of Pignerol.

Marcel Pagnol lists 13 "conditions" concerning the prisoner "Eustache Dauger" and enabling a correspondence to be established with the information on James de la Cloche at his disposal.

[33] Marcel Pagnol deduces that in July 1669 King Louis XIV and Louvois, knowing that Eustache Dauger de Cavoye had been interned for approximately one year, gave his name (truncating it) to the man arrested and taken to Calais, who was the prisoner in the iron mask.

The content of the letters (and the explanatory « loose sheets » which would have accompanied it, which was a common practice at that time) suggests that Louvois also ordered Vauroy not to inform his military superior, the Count of Estrades, of the purpose of his mission, under the false pretext of the deportation of Spanish deserters.

However, the Count of Estrades, who at the time was in charge of the most important maritime stronghold in the kingdom in his capacity as Governor of Dunkirk, and whom the King and Louvois fully trusted, would most certainly have been informed of Vauroy's mission had it only concerned a simple valet.

Pagnol's theory is based on the interpretation he makes of this correspondence in which he perceives lies jointly devised between the minister and Saint-Mars, so as to develop, having foreseen the possible loss of the letters or their later examination, an "official version" regarding the prisoner's identity, rather than systematically destroying the documents which would have doubtless aroused more suspicion and curiosity.

Marcel Pagnol thus underlines the "considerations" shown to the prisoner, indicating his importance: three cells built especially for him, a very generous allowance, a certain level of luxury and exceptional treatment, including for example the permanent provision of a doctor.

During the first month of captivity, correspondence between Louvois and Saint-Mars testifies to the continuous and scrupulous monitoring of the prisoner's health (he was seriously ill in September 1669), reminding Marcel Pagnol of an old saying according to which "when a twin is sick, it does not take long for the other to perish".

In 1681, following the death of the Duke de Lesdiguières, governor of Exilles, Louis XIV reassigned the position to Saint-Mars, who had expressed in a letter to Louvois his "extreme repugnance [with] commanding the citadel of Pignerol".

Marcel Pagnol quotes correspondence concerning the transfer to Exilles between Louvois and Saint-Mars as well as Du Chaunoy, then war administrator in charge of army supplies and buildings.

Marcel Pagnol returns again to the financial question, in particular the resources used to transfer "Dauger" and the valet La Rivière and their conditions of detention in Pignerol, the whole matter being guarded with state secrecy: In January 1687, Louis XIV granted the governance of the Lérins Islands to Saint-Mars, the latter having complained about the toughness of the mountain climate and having reportedly fallen ill.

Marcel Pagnol deduces that this journey consisted of a genuine investigation into the socio-political situation in Pignerol, long conversations with the prisoner, as well as a visit to the ambassador of Turin[46] on Sunday 10 August.

From the prisoner's arrival in Pignerol Marcel Pagnol refers to a fortress garrison "on the alert", due to the fears held by Louvois and Louis XIV of Swiss reprisals, Roux having been arrested in violation of border agreements.

Although he was popular with "many beautiful ladies" (Pagnol describes him as a womaniser), Barbezieux is denounced by Saint Simon for being immature and irresponsible, apparently too young to inherit one of the most important ministries.

Marcel Pagnol quotes extracts from the records kept by Du Junca in which he reports the arrival at the Bastille of the prisoner brought in by Saint-Mars wearing "a black velvet mask", his death on 19 November 1703, and his burial at the cemetery of Saint-Paul the day after.

Renneville's account in 1724 is the first public revelation concerning the unknown prisoner whom the turnkey Antoine Rû said was imprisoned for 31 years for having written poetry critical of the Jesuits, something Pagnol considers "a ridiculous invention."

He describes an attractive and well-built young man wearing "a mask having a chin strap with iron springs",[57][73] gives certain details testifying to a luxurious detention environment and the great respect and consideration with which he was treated by prominent citizens such as the Marquis de Louvois.

In the 2nd edition (1752), Voltaire quotes an anecdote, during imprisonment in Sainte-Marguerite, concerning a silver plate on which the prisoner is thought to have written with a knife before throwing it out of the window and which was brought back to the governor by an obliging and illiterate fisherman.

In the Questions sur l'Encyclopédie (1770), he declares that wearing the mask was enforced, including during medical examinations, for fear that "an overly striking resemblance […] would be recognized" and quotes the apothecary of the Bastille's account, to whom the prisoner is thought to have told his age shortly before his death, saying he was "around sixty years old".

Blainvilliers, who is thought to have seen him without his mask, describes his physical appearance as "tall and well-built," with grey hair and "nice clothes," and reports a real royal ceremonial during the visits, which Pagnol compares to that established by Henri IV at court.

[57][84] Pagnol considers such a version "unacceptable" but all the same underlines the fact that the book was printed in Holland without any author's name, proving that the identity of the masked prisoner was still an important state secret in 1745, some 42 years after his death.

He then had Lauzun imprisoned in Pignerol (where he stayed for ten years) in order to exchange his freedom against the principality of Dombes and the comté of Eu, which he bequeathed to the Duke of Maine, his illegitimate son from his affair with Madame de Montespan.