by Mark Askeda

Created on: May 07, 2009   Last Updated: May 21, 2009

The classic adventure novel, The Three Musketeers was written by Alexendre Dumas (1802 1870) and was first published in 1844. The first of three D'Artagnan romance novels, it is a story about international intrigue, assassination and political struggles in 17th century France. This is an intricate story with many plot twists and surprises. The story has many complex and interesting personalities. Among the main characters are:

D'Artagnan is a young and dashing nobleman from Gascony who dreams of joining the esteemed musketeers, a force of French royal family bodyguards.

Porthos, Athos and Aramis are three musketeers who befriend D'Artagnan. They share a series of adventures.

Cardinal Richelieu is the main political rival of the King of France. It is said that he has as much power as the King.

Milady de Winter is a scheming and evil seductress who was the former wife of the musketeer, Athos. She makes several attempts to kill D'Artagnan. As a teenager, she was former nun who seduced a priest and stole valuables from the church.

Felton is an English official who is seduced by Milady. He commits murder and other crimes at her request.

Rochefort is the other major antagonist of the story. He is a member of the Cardinal's body guards and an ally of Milady.

Constance is the love interest of D'Artagnan.

The story begins with D'Artagnan traveling from his home in Gascony to Paris, the headquarters of the musketeers. D'Artagnan carries a letter of recommendation addressed to captain of the musketeers. During his journey he is attacked by mysterious thieves. His money and recommendation letter are stolen and D'Artagnan is injured. He needs a period of time to recuperate before resuming his journey. He eventually arrives in Paris and meets the musketeers. Unfortunately, without his letter of recommendation the initial meeting goes poorly and D'Artagnan challenges three musketeers to a duel. The musketeers are Athos, Porthos and Aramis. As the duel begins, six of the Cardinal's guards arrive and attempt to arrest the four adversaries. The outnumbered musketeers immediately join forces with D'Artagnan and defeat the Cardinal's guards.

D'Artagnan becomes friends with his previous foes and a series of adventures follow. They recover stolen jewels that belong to the Queen of France, participate in the siege of the town of La Rochelle and engage in espionage in England, among other dangers. An arrest warrant (on false charges) is place on D'Artagnan and several attempts are made on his life. Eventually, the young D'Artagnan is brought before Cardinal Richelieu, who was impressed by his courage and integrity. The Cardinal clears D'Artagnan of all charges and instructs Rochefort to befriend the young musketeer.

The Three Musketeers is one of Alexandre Dumas'earliest works and is widely considered to be his best. Although the plot is intricate and complicated, the story is extremely popular with young people. It was originally written in French, but it translates very well into English. The story has been made into several movies, a TV series, miniseries and even a cartoon. This work was followed in the D'Artagnan trilogy by "Twenty Years After in 1845" and by "The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later in 1850". These sequels depict the further adventures of the four friends.

This work is highly recommended for fans of literature. It is also an excellent way to introduce young people to the joys of reading the classics.

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