Alexandre Dumas 
The Three Musketeers 

With its rousing cry of ‘One for all, and all for one, ‘ Alexandre Dumas’s thrilling adventure novel has captivated generations of readers since its initial publication in 1844. Action, intrigue, and romance abound in this swashbuckling epic, which traces a country lad’s path to the French court of the early 1600s and the glorious fraternity of the king’s men, the Musketeers.

A son of impoverished nobility, D’Artagnan arrives in Paris to find the Musketeers disbanded by the cunning Cardinal Richelieu, who hopes to seize power from the weak-willed Louis XIII. The daring and ambitious youth proves his mettle in the company of the famous Musketeers — Porthos, Athos, and Aramis — and joins them in a heroic struggle to defend the king and his lovely queen, Anne of Austria.

Dumas transformed the concept of the historical novel by writing in a modern, conversational style. His accessible, fast-paced narratives combine real and fictional characters to recapture the events, manners, and mood of seventeenth-century France. Emerging in the chaotic aftermath of the Revolution, Dumas’s novels provided his contemporaries with a welcome sense of identity and national pride. His most popular work,
The Three Musketeers, continues to charm modern readers with its timeless tales of romantic valor.