The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Book Jacket

ONE FOR ALL

Giant Porthos; elegant Aramis; mysterious, haunted Athos:  they are fearless, loyal and unstoppable.  They're also rogues, seducers and swindlers.  But when thousands will die in a war fought over lost love, and lethal royal intrigues are daily events, people don't just need heroes--they need legends.

AND ALL FOR ONE

Armed only with quick wits and a lightning sword, young D'Artagnan just wants to serve with the King's Musketeers.  He soon finds himself saving his queen from the subtle, deadly traps of her enemy, Cardinal Richelieu, and Richelieu's agent--the sadistic, beautiful monster Milady.  Now Porthos, Aramis and Athos must keep the boy and his lover from being crushed in an international clash of political titans...

But can even the Three Musketeers help D'Artagnan save himself from the insane hatred of Milady's cruel revenge?

Review

The Three Musketeers was one of my favorite books in middle school, and when I reread it last month, I found it was just as awesome as I remembered.  A bit problematic in the "use and abuse women" theme, but....this book is just so fun.

It is, I think, the ultimate boy book.  Adventure, swordfights, and dangerous journeys!  The pride of these men is ridiculous--seriously, it's better to die in a duel than to just accept a stray insult?--but I find it endearing.  Especially when our main characters are legendary and cannot lose a fight.

I have mostly no knowledge of how much of this book is historically accurate.  I assume the royalty and events are real, but was war really the result of the love between the Duke of Buckingham and Anne of Austria?  Was Cardinal Richelieu's hatred of the queen the result of scorned love?  I dunno, but it makes things interesting.  And also horrible, what with the Duke owning up to killing thousands of men just so the Queen will hear his name.

Strange times.  Wouldn't want to live in them, absolutely love reading about them!

Also, I want friends like Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.  Guess I'd better offend some people, start duels with them, and be interrupted by the Cardinal's guards.  On my to-do list.

Four out of five fleur de lis.

Release Date:  1844
Reading Level: Grade 6+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection:  DUM

And there's a movie coming out in October.  Looks a bit unrealistic fight-wise, but that will probably only be excellent.