If there is one thing that The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy has for readers, it’s a good sense of adventure and intrigue. The characters are constantly assaulted by both spies and threats from other characters, including lies and violence. Other authors tackled these ideas as well. For example, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. And, much like Orczy and The Scarlet Pimpernel, there were more than just one story involving these characters. As it turns out, mysterious plots and deceit extend beyond just one historical moment. In this post, I am reviewing The Three Musketeers, which is a book rife in swashbuckling adventure and daring.
Outline
The story is set during the reign of both king Louis XIII and Louis XIV in the 17th and 18th centuries respectively. The story features four prominent characters (musketeers): D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. In the novel, D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers becomes fast friends after a fashion. They then battle against the evil cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Witner. The novel is renowned for its swashbuckling action, themes of friendship and loyalty, and the vivid portrayal of 17th-century France. Meanwhile, Dumas weaves a tale of honor, betrayal, and romance that is fitting for the genre. As such, this story has captivated readers for generations, making The Three Musketeers a timeless literary masterpiece.
Book Blurb:
“The novel recounts the adventures of an impecunious 18-year-old Gascon, d’Artagnan, who came to Paris to make a career in the Musketeers’ corps. He became friends with Athos, Porthos and Aramis, musketeers of King Louis XIII. These four men will oppose the Prime Minister, Cardinal Richelieu and his agents, including the Count of Rochefort and the beautiful and mysterious Milady de Winter, to save the honor of the Queen of France Anne of Austria. With its many battles and romantic twists, The Three Musketeers is the typical example of the swashbuckling novel and the success of the novel was such that Dumas adapted it himself for the stage, and took up the four heroes again in the rest of the trilogy.” — Translated
Critical Reception
On Goodreads, The Three Musketeers has 315,567 ratings and 9,075 reviews. Of the ratings, there were 122, 329 five-star ratings, and 3,224 ratings.
Five-star reviewers stated that the characters of the novel are captivating including “Milady de Winter” and the musketeers themselves. Additionally, reviewers stated that it was actually a good book. For example, one reader stated, “There’s even MORE pathos, chivalry, swordplay, hails of bullets, swooning maidens, and truly an evil Cardinal and a nasty Milady to butt heads against.”
Moreover, one-star reviews stated that the book was difficult to following, including both the “dialogue” and what action was transpiring in “the last third of the book.” Additionally, other one-star reviews stated that there really wasn’t much “swashbuckling adventure” as promised. And, reviewers touch on the their perception of the book as a bunch of “misadventures of a handful of low-lifes.”
Conclusion
I have seen many adaptations of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas in film. I am extremely familiar not with just the musketeers but also with the plot of this particular narrative. While it is a fantastic narrative, I do feel a drag sometimes when I read literature from the Romantic period. I think this is the case because there is often a lot of descriptions and not a lot happening. The subsequent Gothic period suffers from this as well. However, when used well, Gothic fiction slowly builds tension. Nevertheless, with most classic fiction, my motto is to just get in the spirit of the thing and read it with additional context and help from outside sources.
