The Three Musketeers
$37.76
- Paperback
640 pages
- Release Date
15 March 2001
Summary
First published in 1844, Alexandre Dumas’s swashbuckling epic chronicles the adventures of D’Artagnan, a gallant young nobleman who journeys to Paris in 1625 hoping to join the ranks of musketeers guarding Louis XIII. He soon finds himself fighting alongside three heroic comrades—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—who seek to uphold the honor of the king by foiling the wicked plots of Cardinal Richelieu and the beautiful spy “Milady.” As Clifton Fadiman reflected, “We read The Three Musketeers to experience a sense of romance and for the sheer excitement of the story. In these violent pages all is action, intrigue, suspense, surprise—an almost endless chain of duels, murders, love affairs, unmaskings, ambushes, hairbreadth escapes, wild rides. It is all impossible and it is all magnificent.”
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780375756740 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0375756744 |
| Author: | Alexandre Dumas, Alan Furst, Jacques Le Clercq |
| Publisher: | Random House USA Inc |
| Imprint: | Modern Library Inc |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 640 |
| Release Date: | 15 March 2001 |
| Weight: | 448g |
| Dimensions: | 28mm x 132mm x 201mm |
| Series: | Modern Library Classics |
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Critics Review
“I do not say there is no character as well-drawn in Shakespeare [as D’Artagnan]. I do say there is none that I love so wholly.” -Robert Louis Stevenson From the Trade Paperback edition.
“I do not say there is no character as well-drawn in Shakespeare [as D’Artagnan]. I do say there is none that I love so wholly.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson
Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas, a prolific author whose life mirrored the drama of his extensive works, was born on July 24, 1802, in Villers-Cotterêts, France. He was the son of Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie (known as Dumas), a distinguished general under Napoleon, and Marie-Louise-Elisabeth Labouret.
Following his father’s death in 1806, the family faced financial hardship, yet Dumas received a private education. Despite being an indifferent student, he excelled in penmanship. In 1816, he began working as a clerk to support his family. His interest in theater led him to Paris in 1822, where he met the renowned tragedian François-Joseph Talma and decided to pursue playwriting. During this time, he had a son with Catherine Labay, a seamstress.
While employed as a scribe for the duc d’Orléans, Dumas co-wrote his first play, La Chasse et l’amour (1825). A pivotal moment came in 1827 after witnessing a performance of Hamlet, which inspired him to focus on depicting “true passions.”
Dumas achieved widespread fame on February 11, 1829, with the premiere of Henri III et sa cour. This play is considered a landmark of the French Romantic movement, breaking away from Neoclassical traditions. Briefly involved in the July Revolution of 1830, Dumas returned to playwriting, producing popular historical melodramas like Antony (1831) and La Tour de Nesle (1832).
Due to his republican sympathies, Dumas fell out of favor with King Louis-Philippe and temporarily left France. In 1832, he embarked on a tour of Switzerland, documenting his experiences in Impressions de voyage: En Suisse (1834-1837). This marked the beginning of his numerous travelogues about journeys across France, Italy, Russia, and other regions.
Around 1840, inspired by French history and Sir Walter Scott’s novels, Dumas began writing historical romances. His collaboration with Auguste Maquet led to Le Chevalier d’Harmental (1842), considered his first major novel, a blend of history, intrigue, adventure, and romance. Their subsequent works, often serialized in Parisian newspapers, gained immense popularity.
Dumas is best known for his iconic works, including the d’Artagnan trilogy: Les trois mousquetaires (The Three Musketeers, 1844), Vingt ans après (Twenty Years After, 1845), and Dix ans plus tard ou le Vicomte de Bragelonne (Ten Years Later; or The Viscount of Bragelonne, 1848-1850). He also authored the Valois romances: La Reine Margot (Queen Margot, 1845), La Dame de Monsoreau (The Lady of Monsoreau, 1846), and Les Quarante-cinq (The Forty-Five Guardsmen, 1848). His novel Le Comte de Monte Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo) is also considered one of his greatest successes.
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