The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas: Side-by-Side Reports!

---Alicia’s review
I just finished reading The Three Musketeers! I read the complete and unabridged version, a 545 page book. Granted, I read it in a hurry (although a book like that can’t be read in one night!) but it was a very, very well-written novel and it certainly kept my attention. It’s definitely a classic adventure story, and it’s fame is romanticized even now in our day! There are several movies based on this book and on it’s sequels, Twenty Years After and The Man in the Iron Mask. The characters are dynamic and you can get to know them all very well during the story. There are many facets to this novel! The only thing keeping me from recommending it wholeheartedly to you all is all the elements of moral degeneration. They are written into this book as a normal part of life (although commented on frequently by the author, which is surprising), which indeed relates to our own day and age. It’s true that France, in the 17th century, under the reign of Louis XIV, was a very troubled society, but Alexandre Dumas’ own loose personal life gave way to an easy mastery of that lifestyle in his writing. He is, no doubt, a very experienced, talented artist. However, though non-graphic, there are many more- than-implied instances in this book of affairs, adultery, fornication, seduction, and violence (the violence is a matter of personal acceptability, as there are numerous swordfights, none drawn out or gruesome: still a part of the book but not focused on). The worst “bad guy” in this story is actually a woman, someone who is most commonly referred to as “Milady” in the book. She goes to the very lowest of the “lows” to get what she wants, but she does get what she deserves in the end. The good news is, there is an edited version of this book that cuts out most of if not all of the questionable content. Unfortunately, that shortens the book considerably. Personally, I usually prefer unabridged copies, as in when you miss out on so much of the richness of a book like “Little Women” in an edited copy. I do recommend that you read The Three Musketeers. It is fast-paced, and it doesn’t stop in between adventures. Even more delightful: humor can be found in this novel. Every day events are often related in an ironic way, as well as the more obvious, as in the chapter name “A Seventeenth-Century Mousetrap”! The story is based around the life of the brave d’Artagnan, a young man who comes to Paris in the hopes of joining the famous Musketeers. D’Artangan was a real character, he died in battle at the side of Louis XIV in 1673. You will miss out on some of the story by reading the abridged version of this book, but I heartily suggest you do read the screened story. Otherwise, the original book needs to be read with the maturity and discernment that I hope most of you have.

---Mary's review
The Three Musketeers is one of my favorite adventure books. Long considered a classic, and even with a candy bar named after it, I do wonder how many have actually read the book. It is about a young man joining the famous musketeers in service of King Louis XIII of France (who reigned 1610 - 1643). King Louis XIII is the father of the famous King Louis XIV, the "Sun King". The book is set starting the year 1625. Cardinal Richelieu had his "reign" during that time, and King Louis and Richelieu had a non- aggressive game between them, seeing who could get a better personal guard: the King's Musketeers, or Richelieu's Guards of his Eminence. The Three Musketeers immediately sets into action, as d'Artagnan, the hero, enters Paris. The book goes on: how d'Artagnan got into the King's Guards (different than Richelieu's guards), and some of the skirmishes in which d'Artagnan and his new found friends, the 3 Musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, found themselves in, between the (Eminence's) Guards and the Musketeers. Soon, however, d'Artagnan is involved in something more dangerous: political intrigues, while he tries to preserve the queen's honor. Although I do not commend the behavior of the queen and Buckingham, and it is questionable whether d'Artagnan should have helped the queen in such behavior, the queen could not have a man much more loyal and courageous than d'Artagnan. Richelieu is the queen's enemy, supposedly because the queen had brushed off Richelieu when he came to her with the air of a lover, and so he was jealous of Buckingham. The book continues in the most extraordinary way, as coincidences and dangers present themselves to the 4 Musketeers (for d'Artagnan does eventually become a Musketeer). I have researched some, and I'm pretty certain that there actually was a d'Artagnan along with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. His memoirs, as mentioned in Dumas' preface, is a real book, although it was written by another after d'Artagnan's death. It does contain some of the instances that Dumas relates, for example, the way d'Artagnan made friends with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. A majority of Dumas' accounts are based on that book and other sources of history. The case of the diamond studs are recorded in history, however, only by La Rochefoucauld, who was 12 at that time, and since no one else has recorded such happenings, it is doubtful whether it actually happened. The Three Musketeers is the first of a trilogy. Next is Twenty Years After, which I have not been able to locate, but would be highly interested in reading. The last is The Man in the Iron Mask, which I have recently found and read, and plan to do a book report on for next issue. Also, Dumas wrote The Count of Monte Cristo, and other more obscure books.



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