The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers

By Alexandre Dumas

****1/2

Teaser

Mixing a bit of seventeenth-century French history with a great deal of invention, Alexandre Dumas tells the tale of young D’Artagnan and his musketeer comrades, Porthos, Athos and Aramis. Together they fight to foil the schemes of the brilliant, dangerous Cardinal Richelieu, who pretends to support the king while plotting to advance his ownpower. Bursting with swirling swordplay, swooning romance, and unforgettable figures such as the seductively beautiful but deadly femme fatale, Milady, and D’Artagnan’s equally beautiful love, Madame Bonacieux, The Three Musketeers continues, after a century and a half of continuous publication, to define the genre of swashbuckling romance and historical adventure.
Barbara T. Cooper is Professor of French at the University of New Hampshire. She is a member of the editorial boards of Nineteenth-Century French Studies and the Cahiers Alexandre Dumas and specializes in nineteenth-century French drama and works by Dumas.

Review

I enjoyed this book, mostly because of the lofty feeling Dumas' style creates. Alexandre Dumas has a very wholesome writing style, and it keeps the story satisfactory to read throughout the over 700 pages. The plot itself isn't the only thing that pulls you into the world of swords, wine, and musketeers; Dumas' writing style and the extremely interesting and lovable characters make the book intriguing when the plot is slow. D'Artagnan, the protagonist, is very bold and entertaining and the other characters teach him lessons in humility. The many different components of the Three Musketeers make it a clever story with many wise lessons embedded in Dumas' world of bravery and friendship.