The Three Musketeers (Modern Library) [Hardcover]

Alexandre Dumas père (Author), Jacques Le Clercq (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Modern Library | Publication Date: November 18, 1999

"We read The Three Musketeers to experience a sense of romance and for the sheer excitement of the story," reflected Clifton Fadiman. "In these violent pages all is action, intrigue, suspense, surprise--an almost endless chain of duels, murders, love affairs, unmaskings, ambushes, hairbreadth escapes, wild rides. It is all impossible and it is all magnificent."
        First published in 1844, Alexandre Dumas's swashbuckling epic chronicles the adventures of D'Artagnan, a gallant young nobleman who journeys to Paris in 1625 hoping to join the ranks of musketeers guarding Louis XIII. He soon finds himself fighting alongside three
heroic comrades--Athos, Porthos, and Aramis--who seek to uphold the honor of the king by foiling the wicked plots of Cardinal Richelieu and the beautiful spy "Milady."
        "Dumas will be read a hundred, nay, three hundred years on," wrote John Galsworthy. "His greatest creation is undoubtedly D'Artagnan, type at once of the fighting adventurer and of the trusty servant, whose wily blade is ever at the back of those whose hearts have neither his magnanimity nor his courage. Few, if any, characters in fiction inspire one with such belief in their
individual existences. . . . To one who made D'Artagnan all shall be forgiven." Clifton Fadiman agreed: "Dumas enjoyed writing his stories. . . . The pleasure he must have felt in
creating D'Artagnan's troubles and triumphs
flashes out of these pages. . . . Dumas rampaged through the history of France, inventing, changing, distorting--doing whatever was needed to produce a tale to hold the reader breathless."

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up-With swelling musical background, the clash of swordplay, and the occasional thump of a head being cut off, the St. Charles Players bring back the feeling of radio theater in their rendition of the classic tale by Alexandre Dumas. The players' voices emit every nuance required to let listeners experience the swashbuckling deeds of the famous heroic threesome and the boy called D'Artagnan who wants to join their ranks. When the young man arrives in Paris with the wish to enlist with the King's Musketeers, he finds himself challenged to three duels in his first afternoon in the city by men who turn out to be Porthos, Aramis, and Athos-the Three Musketeers. Instead of fighting against them, the twists of fate have D'Artagnan battling for them against the evil Cardinal Richelieu's guards. After demonstrating his worth with a sword, D'Artagnan proves more of his mettle by journeying to England to foil a plot to embarrass France's Queen Anne, the former Anne of Austria. D'Artagnan saves his queen but loses the woman he loves, so he seeks vengeance and, in turn, instills himself firmly in the ranks of the Musketeers. The flavor of the original is evident even though this abridged version includes only highlights in its retelling.
Joanne K. Hammond, Chambersburg Area Middle School, PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From Library Journal

A perennial favorite, this work continues to hold appeal for adventure lovers. Full of intrigue, swordplay, and revenge, it is the story of d'Artagnan, a young nobleman who travels to Paris in hopes of joining the Musketeers, a group of swashbuckling adventurers who serve King Louis XIII. His wit and fighting ability make d'Artagnan a welcome addition to their ranks, and together the four young men work to foil the King's evil rival, Cardinal Richelieu. Despite the period setting and constant violence, the story captures and sustains the listener's interest as the Musketeers vanquish the villains. Michael York reads superbly, his rich baritone voice giving each role convincing clarity. The audio format is particularly suited to the tale. The production quality is excellent. Recommended for general collections.
- Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 624 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library (November 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679603328
• ISBN-13: 978-0679603320
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1.3 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (260 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,006,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasant Surprise, July 4, 2002

By 

Haley J. The Bat (Indianapolis, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Three Musketeers (Wordsworth Classics) (Paperback)

The only reason I picked up the book was because it was one of "those" books in the school library. You wanted to read it for the points, but everybody who picked it up gaze up and put it back down. *I* even tried to read it once and gave up. But I'm always up for a challenge. The next year I checked it out and informed everybody I knew that I was going to be one of the first people in our school to read the book. Then I decided to begin reading.

The first couple pages are basically one long paragraph that doesn't make sense unless you're re-reading it and already know the characters and what's going on. I was tempted to put it down, but I wasn't going to back down. By about page 30, it was easy to read, and I began to get into it.

What I discovered was that this is possibly one of the best pieces of fiction ever written. I couldn't put it down, and spent a whole Saturday reading it. I never expected it to be what it was from what I'd read on the back. But then, the plot is so complex, and there are so many sub-plots that you wonder how anyone can do it justice.

I read once that many people associate the word "classic" with the word "boring". As I've discovered, this is entirely not true. When I thought about it, the reason books become classics aren't because they're old and boring, but because people love them, because they are read by millions. The reason that they lasted for so long is because people kept them alive. I'm sure that in a century from now, only a select few books that we enjoy will still be in print, and those particular books will be the best of our time, just as The Three Musketeers was the best of its time.

I'm sorry if this review didn't suffice, I'm just hoping that maybe somebody will read it and give it a try. So far I haven't talked anyone I know into reading it, but they're not bookworms like me. People are intimidated by its size, but from my experience, the best books are the largest. When an author really has a story to tell, one that you will enjoy, one that has a complex, satisfying plot, then it's going to be long.

Okay, I'm done lecturing anyone who got this far. :)

83 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vive le roi! May your swash be firmly buckled!, May 10, 2000

By 

J. Angus Macdonald "bibliovore" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Three Musketeers (Puffin Classics) (Paperback)

First notice: do NOT read an abridged version of the tales. You will lose too much.

Second notice: do NOT be fooled into beleiving this is a history book. This is a work of fiction, and a magnificent one.

So, with that in mind, what can one say about The Three Musketeers? Athos, Porthos, Aramis, D'Artangnan, the great friends, the great heros, the part-time cads, the drinkers, womanizers, war heros, saviours of the Queen's honour, foils to M. le Cardinal -- these are the ultimate Larger Than Life characters. They foil dastardly plots, they involve themselves in high politics and affairs of state, the duel constantly, and still find time to learn lessons of friendship, honour, and betrayal.

This is not a children's book, no more than 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is a children's book. It was written for adults and there are many scenes children will not understand and will become bored with. Do not let that stop YOU from reading it. Teach you children parts of the tale and then work them towards it. Do yourself a favour and find out just how rich and complex this tale is. You will enjoy it.

78 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Huzzah!, September 7, 2006

By 

Stephen Balbach (Ashton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Three Musketeers (Hardcover)

An "endless adventure" breathlessly moving from one scene to the next: sword-fighting, court espionage, sex scandals, poisonings, assassinations, undying love and so on.

'Les Trois Mousquetaires', first published in 1844, was soon translated into three English versions by 1846. One of these, by William Barrow, is still in print and fairly faithful to the original, available in the Oxford World's Classics 1999 edition. However all of the explicit and many of the implicit references to sexuality had been removed to conform to 19th century English standards of morality, thus making the scenes between d'Aragnan and Milady, for example, confusing and strange. The most recent and new standard English translation is by award-winning translator Richard Pevear (2006). Pevear says in his translation notes that most of the modern translations available today are "textbook examples of bad translation practices" which "give their readers an extremely distorted notion of Dumas's writing." Thankfully we have high quality translations like this one now available.