The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas: Side-by-side reviews!!

---Alicia’s review
The Man in the Iron Mask is one of the many less-heard of sequels to Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers, staring the famous foursome d’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. The Man in the Iron Mask is actually the third part in the last book of this adventure series. The Three Musketeers is followed by Twenty Years After, a hard-to-find novel, and then by The Vicomte de Bragelonne, or Ten Years After. This last book is long enough to be commonly divided into three parts, the last of which has been made famous by a recent movie as The Man in the Iron Mask. I read an edited version, 588 pages of text, and cannot vouch for the unabridged as a consequence! After reading The Three Musketeers this book was a lot like rejoining four friends, and with that view in mind and knowing that Alexandre Dumas is a very skillful author, I must warn you that just about all of the main characters are killed off in the last 10 chapters! However, this was, again, an enjoyable book. Once again, Dumas’s wit shows through, such as in the titles “In Which Porthos is Convinced Without Having Understood Anything” and “How Mouston had become Fatter without Giving Porthos notice thereof, and of the Troubles which Consequently befell that Worthy Gentleman” (don’t worry, all the language in this book isn’t like that!), and in this book, or at least in the edited version, you will not find all the questionable influences that were in the first novel. The focus of this book is somewhat hard to say, as there are many stories interwoven in Dumas’s writing! The Vicomte de Bragelonne is Raoul, a new character in this book, who is Athos’s son . His story of conflict with the king (King Louis XIV, son of the king in The Three Musketeers) is mixed in with the story of, obviously, the Man in the Iron Mask. You may have heard a little about this true incident. In the 1600’s, the era in which this book was based, there was, indeed, an unidentified sometimes-masked prisoner recorded as a prisoner (in various prisons) in France. Historians still debate who this mysterious man was, but it is important to note that Dumas’s theory on him has been romanticized. Actually, this man did not wear an iron mask, in the first place; they believe that he was known only to have worn a velvet one, on occasions. You may be wondering where our “one for all and all for one!” quartet is in all this. D’Artagnan, the main focus of the first novel, has grown up and taken his place as head of the King’s Musketeers in this book, while the other three have quit the Musketeers for other things. One of them is the cause of most of the incidents in this novel, and it’s very interesting to watch it unfold. But if you want to see what happens you’ll have to find out for yourself!!

---Mary's review
The Man in the Iron Mask is the third part of the third book, Le Vicomte de Bragelonne in the Three Musketeers trilogy. I have read the unabridged The Man in the Iron Mask, and have found nothing in this which had made the unabridged The Three Musketeers less desirable. The Man in the Iron Mask is at first hard to jump into since a lot had happened since The Three Musketeers adventures. D’Artagnan is the only one still a musketeer. Athos --Comte de la Fere, and his son, Raoul, are at their house in Blois, Porthos is now Monsieur le Baron du Vallon, and Aramis, now called d’Herblay, is the general of the Jesuits, and is aiming to become pope, even if it means betraying his king and his friends. The story starts off with Aramis finding, somehow by chance, a mysterious prisoner in the Bastille. Aramis and the prisoner then conspire to topple King Louis XIV, and seize the throne of France. A daring jailbreak, a confounding masquerade, and a frightening fight for the crown makes Aramis break the Musketeers’ vow “All for one and one for all!” Aramis has vastly changed, and, though he is regretful, drags Porthos with him to their doom, as d’Artagnan helps Athos try to get his son, Raoul, forget the infidelity of his fiancee, who is having an affair with the king. D’Artagnan is next commanded by the king to capture the island, Belle-Isle, and kill the fugitives, Aramis & Porthos. How it turns out I leave to you to find out. This book is definitely one of the most enthralling adventures I’ve ever read. I encourage those who have read The Three Musketeers to get this book. As for the historical account, there was a mysterious prisoner in the Bastille. Who he, or she, was is unknown. Dumas’ guess is plausible, though. Whether the prisoner wore an iron mask is also unknown.


Note from the Editor: It would appear that the versions Mary and I read of The Man in the Iron Mask differed greatly. My version was edited by David Coward and was 588 pages, with footnotes, and introduction. Mary’s, unabridged, was translated by Jacqueline Rogers, was 495 pages, with a “Note to the Reader” and 10 page afterward. Not as much of the previous two sections in The Vicomte de Bragelonne was explained in Mary’s copy, making for more confusion. Also, although Mary’s version started right off with the mysterious prisoner, my longer version did not get to him until the middle of the book. We wanted to make these differences clear to you and will leave the choice at your preference.



| Literature Corner | | Stories | | Girl Talk | | Special Articles | | Words of Wisdom |
| Lookin' Good | | Poems | | URAQT | | Movie Reviews | | Music Reviews | | Archives |
| Links | | Fun Stuff | | Letters from Readers | | Guestbook | | Email the editor |