 Marcel Pagnol bases his argument on what he found in the correspondence between Saint-Mars and the Minister of War under Louis XIV -- this being Louvois until 1691, then his son Barbezieux from July 1669 (date of the imprisonment in Pignerol) to 1698 (date of the transfer to Sainte-Marguerite).It seems that Saint-Mars sent a weekly report on the state prison to the minister, who systematically replied with his instructions.Among this extensive correspondence, Pagnol mainly has at his disposal the minister's replies, collected by the Deposit Office of War and National Archives.