Novel
The Three Musketeers
Les Trois Mousquetaires
Opening lines
Le premier lundi du mois d’avril 1625, le bourg de Meung, où naquit l’auteur du Roman de la Rose, semblait être dans une révolution aussi entière que si les huguenots en fussent venus faire une seconde Rochelle.
On the first Monday of the month of April 1625, the market town of Meung, where the author of the Romance of the Rose was born, seemed to be in as complete an uproar as if the Huguenots had come to make a second La Rochelle of it.
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from gutenberg.org
Synopsis
In 1625, a young Gascon, d'Artagnan, travels up to Paris with a letter of recommendation for M. de Tréville, captain of the king's musketeers, a letter that is stolen from him on the way. He arranges three duels in quick succession, with Athos, Porthos and Aramis, and the meeting turns into a joint fight against the cardinal's guards. A friendship is born among the four men. The queen has given the Duke of Buckingham diamond studs that Richelieu wants to use to ruin her: they must be retrieved from London before a ball at which the king means to see them.
Context
The novel first appeared as a serial in Le Siècle, from 14 March to 14 July 1844, then in volumes from Baudry the same year. It draws on the Mémoires de M. d'Artagnan, false memoirs published in 1700 by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras. Maquet did the historical research and wrote the first sketches; Dumas developed them, reworked the characters, quickened the action and gave the dialogue its character. The action covers the years 1625 to 1628, under Louis XIII and Richelieu.
Who it is for
A long adventure novel written for serial publication, each instalment renewing the suspense; no difficulty of language.
Prizes and reception
The success was immense and the novel was quickly translated; Dumas extended it with two sequels, Vingt ans après and Le Vicomte de Bragelonne.
Sources for this page 7
The pages consulted to check this page.