Customer Reviews

Twenty Years After, V1

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Like many young men before me, I discovered Alexandre Dumas in my youth and his "Count of Monte Christo" and "Three Musketeers" remain some of my favorite books. From the "Count of Monte Christo" we learn that revenge is a dish best served cold and from the "Three Musketeers" we come to value the pleasures of friendship and the importance of personal loyalty. While some critics may look upon these books as 19th century pulp fiction, they have stood the test of time for the quality of the stories have kept the books in print and made them the basis for swashbuckling movies from the earliest days of film to the present day. Most of Dumas books were densely plotted novels set in historical France. His characters are memorable and the novels are intricately plotted stories of intrigue and treachery. Those who complain about the state of politics today should pick up a Dumas novel, for the French ministers played for very high stakes indeed. Because of the sophistication of their plots - and the depths of intrigue present in the French aristocracy - these books require intense concentration on the part of the reader for there are legions of characters to keep track of, each with his or her own agenda. The "Three Musketeers" dealt with the adventures of d'Artagnan, a real life Musketeer from Gascony who lived during the rein of Louis XIII and Louis XIV. His comrades Athos, Porthos and Aramis, who were also based on real men and the novel, set in 1628, followed these characters as they intrigued on the side of the Queen, Anne of Austria, who was married to Louis XIII. They were pitted against one of the great villains of literary history, the imperious and imposing Cardinal Richelieu. This book "Twenty Years After" is a sequel to the first tale of the Musketeers and it is set during the dramatic days of the Fronde, of Civil War in France, two decades after the conclusion of the first story, when the Musketeers have been separated by time and events. The queen mother, Anne of Austria rules France as regent for the young Louis XIV and the power behind the throne is Cardinal Marazin, who is Anne's secret lover. Dumas has the Musketeers come out of retirement and re-discover the value of their friendship so that they can match wits with the devious French Minister, Marazin and the character of the Son of Milady, the unforgettable female villain of the "Three Musketeers." Despite the heavy plot, Dumas' pace never flags and dedicated readers will not only be thoroughly entertained but they will probably learn more about the intricacies of French history and politics than they ever thought possible. Jeffrey Morseburg