The Three Musketeers

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The Three Musketeers

"D'Artagnan, Athos, Aramis and Porthos"

Image by Maquet
Original title Les Trois Mousquetaires
Country France
Language French
Genre Historical novel
Publication
MarchJuly 1844 (serialised)
date
Pages 145
Twenty Years After, The Vicomte of
Followed by
Bragelonne

The Three Musketeers (French: Les Trois Mousquetaires [le twa muskt]) is a
historical novel by Alexandre Dumas.

Set in 16251628, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan (based on
Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan) after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the
Musketeers of the Guard. Although d'Artagnan is not able to join this elite corps
immediately, he befriends the three most formidable musketeers of the ageAthos,
Porthos and Aramisand gets involved in affairs of the state and court.
In genre, The Three Musketeers is primarily a historical and adventure novel. However,
Dumas also frequently works into the plot various injustices, abuses, and absurdities of the
old regime, giving the novel an additional political aspect at a time when the debate in
France between republicans and monarchists was still fierce. The story was first serialised
from March to July 1844, during the July Monarchy, four years before the French
Revolution of 1848 violently established the Second Republic. The author's father,
Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, had been a well-known General in France's Republican army
during the French Revolutionary Wars.

The story of d'Artagnan is continued in Twenty Years After and The Vicomte of
Bragelonne: Ten Years Later.

Contents
1 Origin
2 Plot summary
3 Characters
4 Editions
5 Adaptations
o 5.1 Film
o 5.2 Television
o 5.3 Stage
o 5.4 Video games and board games
o 5.5 Other
6 References
7 External links

Origin
A Musketeer of the Guard c.1660.

In the very first sentences of his preface, Alexandre Dumas indicated as his source
Mmoires de Monsieur d'Artagnan (1700), a historical novel by Gatien de Courtilz de
Sandras, which Dumas discovered during his research for his history of Louis XIV, printed
by Pierre Rouge in Amsterdam.[1] It was in this book, he said, that d'Artagnan relates his
first visit to M. de Trville, captain of the Musketeers, where in the antechamber, he met
three young Barnese with the names Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. This information struck
the imagination of Dumas so muchhe tells usthat he continued his investigation and
finally encountered once more the names of the three musketeers in a manuscript with the
title Mmoire de M. le comte de la Fre, etc.. Excited, Dumas requested permission to
reprint the manuscripta permission which was granted:

Now, this is the first part of this precious manuscript which we offer to our readers,
restoring it to the title which belongs to it, and entering into an engagement that if (of which
we have no doubt) this first part should obtain the success it merits, we will publish the
second immediately.

In the meanwhile, since godfathers are second fathers, as it were, we beg the reader to lay
to our account, and not to that of the Comte de la Fre, the pleasure or the ennui he may
experience.

This being understood, let us proceed with our story.[2]

The book he referred to was Mmoires de M. d'Artagnan, capitaine lieutenant de la

premire compagnie des Mousquetaires du Roi (Memoirs of Sir d'Artagnan, Lieutenant
Captain of the first company of the King's Musketeers) by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras
(Cologne, 1700). The book was borrowed from the Marseille public library, and the card-
index remains to this day; Dumas kept the book when he went back to Paris.[citation needed]

Following Dumas's lead in his preface, Eugne d'Auriac (de la Bibliothque Royale) in
1847 was able to write the biography of d'Artagnan: d'Artagnan, Capitaine-Lieutenant des
Mousquetaires Sa vie aventureuse Ses duels etc. based on Courtilz de Sandras.[3]

The Three Musketeers was written in collaboration with Auguste Maquet, who also worked
with Dumas on its sequels (Twenty Years After and The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years
Later), as well as The Count of Monte Cristo. Maquet would suggest plot outlines after
doing historical research; Dumas then expanded the plot, removing some characters,
including new ones, and imbuing the story with his unmistakable style.

The Three Musketeers was first published in serial form in the newspaper Le Sicle between
March and July 1844.

Plot summary
In 1625 France, d'Artagnan (a poor young nobleman) leaves his family in Gascony and
travels to Paris to join the Musketeers of the Guard. At an inn in Meung-sur-Loire, an older
man derides d'Artagnan's horse. Insulted, d'Artagnan demands a duel. The older man's
companions beat d'Artagnan unconscious with a cooking pot and a metal tong that breaks
his sword. His letter of introduction to Monsieur de Trville, the commander of the
Musketeers, is also stolen. D'Artagnan resolves to avenge himself upon the man (who is
later revealed to be the Comte de Rochefort, an agent of Cardinal Richelieu, who is passing
orders from the Cardinal to his spy Lady de Winter, usually called Milady de Winter or
simply Milady).

In Paris, d'Artagnan visits M. de Trville at the headquarters of the Musketeers, but without
the letter, Trville politely refuses his application. He does, however, write a letter of
introduction to an academy for young gentlemen which may prepare him for recruitment at
a later time. From Trville's window, d'Artagnan sees Rochefort passing in the street below
and rushes out of the building to confront him, but in doing so he offends three Musketeers,
Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, who each demand satisfaction; d'Artagnan must fight a duel
with all of them that afternoon. As d'Artagnan prepares himself for the first duel, he realizes
that Athos' seconds are Porthos and Aramis, who are astonished that the young Gascon
intends to duel them all. As d'Artagnan and Athos begin, Cardinal Richelieu's guards
appear and try to arrest d'Artagnan and the three Musketeers for illegal dueling. Although
outnumbered, the four men win the battle. D'Artagnan seriously wounds Jussac, one of the
Cardinal's officers and a renowned fighter. After learning of this, King Louis XIII appoints
d'Artagnan to Des Essart's company of the King's Guards and gives him forty pistoles.

Depiction of the Cardinal's musketeers, the great rivals of the King's musketeers.

D'Artagnan hires a servant (Planchet), finds lodgings, and reports to Monsieur des Essart.
Des Essart's company is a less prestigious regiment in which he must serve for two years
before being considered for the Musketeers. Shortly after, his landlord speaks to him about
his wife Constance Bonacieux's kidnapping. When she is presently released, d'Artagnan
falls in love at first sight with her. She works for Queen Anne of France, who is secretly
conducting an affair with the Duke of Buckingham. The King, Louis XIII, gave the Queen
a gift of diamond studs but she gives them to her lover as a keepsake. Cardinal Richelieu,
who wants war between France and England, plans to expose the tryst and persuades the
King to demand the Queen wear the diamonds to a soire that the Cardinal is sponsoring.
Constance tries to send her husband to London but the man is manipulated by Richelieu
and does not go, so d'Artagnan and his friends intercede. En route, the Cardinal's henchmen
repeatedly attack them and only d'Artagnan and Planchet reach London. Before arriving,
d'Artagnan is compelled to assault and nearly kill the Comte de Wardes, a friend of the
Cardinal, cousin of Rochefort and Milady's lover. Although Milady stole two of the
diamond studs, the Duke of Buckingham provides replacements while delaying the thief's
return to Paris. D'Artagnan is thus able to return a complete set of jewels to Queen Anne
just in time to save her honour. In gratitude, she gives him a beautiful ring.

Shortly afterwards, d'Artagnan begins an affair with Madame Bonacieux. Arriving for an
assignation, he sees signs of a struggle and discovers that Rochefort and M. Bonacieux,
acting under the orders of the Cardinal, have assaulted and imprisoned her. D'Artagnan and
his friends, now recovered from their injuries, return to Paris. D'Artagnan meets Milady de
Winter officially, and recognizes her as one of the Cardinal's agents, but becomes
infatuated with her until her maid reveals that Milady is indifferent toward him. Entering
her quarters in the dark, he pretends to be the Comte de Wardes and trysts with her. He
finds a fleur-de-lis branded on Milady's shoulder, marking her as a felon. Discovering his
identity, Milady attempts to kill him but d'Artagnan eludes her. He is ordered to the Siege
of La Rochelle.

He is informed that the Queen has rescued Constance from prison. In an inn, the
musketeers overhear the Cardinal asking Milady to murder the Duke of Buckingham, a
supporter of the Protestant rebels at La Rochelle who has sent troops to assist them.
Richelieu gives her a letter that excuses her actions as under orders from the Cardinal
himself, but Athos takes it. The next morning, Athos bets that he, d'Artagnan, Porthos, and
Aramis, and their servants can hold the recaptured St. Gervais bastion against the rebels for
an hour, for the purpose of discussing their next course of action. They resist for an hour
and a half before retreating, killing 22 Rochellese in total. They warn Lord de Winter and
the Duke of Buckingham. Milady is imprisoned on arrival in England but seduces her
guard, Felton (a fictionalization of the real John Felton), and persuades him to allow her
escape and to kill Buckingham himself. On her return to France, Milady hides in a convent
where Constance is also staying. The naive Constance clings to Milady, who sees a chance
for revenge on d'Artagnan, and fatally poisons Constance before d'Artagnan can rescue her.
The Musketeers arrest Milady before she reaches Cardinal Richelieu. They bring an official
executioner, put her on trial and sentence her to death. After her execution, the four friends
return to the siege of La Rochelle. The Comte de Rochefort arrests d'Artagnan and takes
him to the Cardinal. When questioned about Milady's execution, d'Artagnan presents her
letter of pardon as his own. Impressed with d'Artagnan's willfulness and secretly glad to be
rid of Milady, the Cardinal destroys the letter and writes a new order, giving the bearer a
promotion to lieutenant in the Trville company of musketeers, leaving the name blank.
D'Artagnan offers the letter to Athos, Porthos, and Aramis in turn but each refuses it; Athos
because it is below him, Porthos because he is retiring to marry his wealthy mistress and
Aramis because he is joining the priesthood. D'Artagnan, though heartbroken and full of
regrets, gets the promotion he coveted.

Characters
Musketeers
 Athos Comte de la Fre: he has never recovered from his marriage to Milady and
seeks solace in wine. He becomes a father figure to d'Artagnan.
Aramis Ren d'Herblay, a handsome young man who hesitates between his
religious calling and his fondness for women and scheming.
Porthos M. du Vallon: A dandy, fond of fashionable clothes and keen to make a
fortune for himself. The least cerebral of the quartet, he compensates with his
homeric strength of body and character.
D'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan: a young, foolhardy, brave
and clever man seeking his fortune in Paris.

Musketeers' servants

Planchet a young man from Picardy, he is seen by Porthos on the Pont de la

Tournelle spitting into the river below. Porthos takes this as a sign of good character
and hires him on the spot to serve d'Artagnan. He turns out to be a brave, intelligent
and loyal servant.
Grimaud a Breton. Athos is a strict master, and only permits his servant to speak
in emergencies; he mostly communicates through sign language.
Mousqueton originally a Norman named Boniface; Porthos, however, changes his
name to one that sounds better. He is a would-be dandy, just as vain as his master.
In lieu of pay, he is clothed and lodged in a manner superior to that usual for
servants, dressing grandly in his master's old clothes.
Bazin from the province of Berry, Bazin is a pious man who waits for the day his
master (Aramis) will join the church, as he has always dreamed of serving a priest.

Others

Milady de Winter A beautiful and evil spy of the Cardinal, she is also Athos's ex-
wife. D'Artagnan impersonates a rival to spend a night with her, attracting her
deadly hatred.
Rochefort is a more conventional agent of the Cardinal. Following their duel on the
road to Paris, d'Artagnan swears to have his revenge. He loses several opportunities,
but their paths finally cross again towards the end of the novel.
Constance Bonacieux The Queen's seamstress and confidante. After d'Artagnan
rescues her from the Cardinal's guard, he immediately falls in love with her. She
appreciates his protection, but the relationship is never consummated.
Monsieur Bonacieux Constance's husband. He initially enlists d'Artagnan's help to
rescue his wife from the Cardinal's guards, but when he himself is arrested, he and
the Cardinal discover they have an understanding. Richelieu turns Monsieur
Bonacieux against his wife, and he goes on to play a role in her abduction.
Kitty A servant of Milady de Winter. She dislikes her mistress and adores
d'Artagnan.
Lord Winter - brother of Milady's second husband, who died of a mysterious
disease (apparently poisoned by Milady). He imprisoned Milady upon her arrival in
England and decided to send her overseas in exile. Later, he took part in Milady's
trial.
Historical characters

King Louis XIII of France: presented by Dumas as a fairly weak monarch often
manipulated by his chief minister.
Queen Anne of Austria The unhappy Queen of France.
Cardinal Richelieu: Armand Jean du Plessis, the King's chief minister, who plots
against the Queen in resentment at having his advances rebuffed. Dumas describes
him as being "36 or 37" though in 1625 Richelieu was 40.
M. de Trville Captain of The Musketeers, and something of a mentor to
d'Artagnan, though he has only a minor role.
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham - a handsome and charismatic man used
to getting his way: he thinks nothing of starting a war between England and France
for his personal convenience. His courtship of Anne of Austria gets her in trouble.
John Felton A puritan officer assigned to guard Milady and warned about her
ways, he is nonetheless seduced and fooled by her in a matter of days and
assassinates Buckingham at her request.

Editions
Les Trois Mousquetaires was translated into three English versions by 1846. One of these,
by William Barrow (18171877), is still in print and fairly faithful to the original, available
in the Oxford World's Classics 1999 edition. To conform to 19th-century English standards,
all of the explicit and many of the implicit references to sexuality were removed, adversely
affecting the readability of several scenes, such as the scenes between d'Artagnan and
Milady.

The most recent English translation is by Richard Pevear (2006), who, though applauding
Barrow's work, states 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' writing".[4]

Adaptations
Film

Main article: The Three Musketeers in film

Television

The Three Musketeers was adapted as a serial by the BBC in 1954 and 1966. The
Musketeers, a 2014 series by Adrian Hodges, is another BBC adaptation.[5]

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds is a SpanishJapanese anime adaptation, where

most of the characters are "funny animal" dogs. Another anime adaption was later made in
Japan called The Three Musketeers Anime, only this time the characters were human.
The Young Blades television series is a sequel to the novels, centered on the son of
d'Artagnan; similarly, Albert the Fifth Musketeer is an animated sequel. Three Musketeers
is an anime series adaption while The Three Musketeers was an animated adaption that
aired as part of Hanna-Barbera's The Banana Splits Comedy-Adventure Hour & The
Banana Splits & Friends show.

Stage

The first stage production was in Dumas' own lifetime as the opera Les Trois
Mousquetaires with a libretto by Dumas himself and music by Albert Visetti.

The Three Musketeers is a musical with a book by William Anthony McGuire, lyrics by
Clifford Grey and P. G. Wodehouse, and music by Rudolf Friml. The original 1928
production ran on Broadway for 318 performances. A 1984 revival ran for 15 previews and
9 performances. In 2003, a Dutch musical 3 Musketiers premiered, which went on to open
in Germany (both the Dutch and German production starring Pia Douwes as Milady De
Winter) and Hungary.

Video games and board games

1995 saw the release by publisher U.S. Gold of Touch: The Adventures of the Fifth
Musketeer by video game developers Clipper Software, a classic point-and-click adventure
game.[6] In 2005, Swedish developer Legendo Entertainment published the side-scrolling
platform game The Three Musketeers for Windows XP and Windows Vista. In July 2009, a
version of the game was released for WiiWare in North America and Europe under the title
The Three Musketeers: One for All!.[7] In 2009, Canadian developer Dingo Games self-
published The Three Musketeers: The Game for Windows and Mac OS X. It is the first
game to be truly based on the novel (in that it closely follows the novel's story).[8] 2009 also
saw the publication of the asymmetric team board game The Three Musketeers "The
Queen's Pendants" ( " ") from French designer Pascal
Bernard[9] by the Russian publisher Zvezda.[10]

In 2010, Anuman Interactive launched The Three Musketeers, a hidden object game on PC
and MAC. Players follow d'Artagnan in his quest to become a king's musketeer.[11]

Other
Three Musketeers, Issue No. 1, Classic Comics, published 1941

Publisher Albert Lewis Kanter (18971973), created Classic Comics for Elliot Publishing
Company in 1941 with its debut issues being The Three Musketeers. The Three
Mouseketeers was the title of two separate series produced by DC Comics; the first series
was a loose parody of The Three Musketeers.

In 1939, American author Tiffany Thayer published a book titled Three Musketeers
(Thayer, 1939). This is a re-telling of the story in Thayer's words, true to the original plot
but told in a different order and with different points of view and emphasis from the
original. The Khaavren Romances by Steven Brust are fantasy (or science-fiction) novels
heavily influenced by The Three Musketeers and its sequels; the characters and social
background are closer to Dumas's than the plots.

Sarah Hoyt wrote a series of Historical Murder mysteries with the Musketeers as the
protagonists. (Hoyt wrote the novels under the name Sarah D'Almeida.)

References
1.

"Les Trois Mousquetaires by Alexandre Dumas Free Ebook : Author's Preface".

Gutenberg.org. 4 November 2004. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
Dumas, Alexandre. The Three Musketeers, Author's Preface.
Editions de La Table Ronde, Paris, 1993 ISBN 2-7103-0559-3
Dumas, Alexandre The Three Musketeers, Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, "A Note
on the Translation", page xxi
Strecker, Erin (1 August 2012). "One for all: BBC announces new show 'The
Musketeers'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
 Touch: The Adventures of the Fifth Musketeer, Moby Games
"The Three Musketeers: One for All! (WiiWare)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 18 January
2010.
The Three Musketeers: The Game, Moby Games
"Pascal Bernard Board Game Designer". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 18 January
2010.
. . . (in Russian). Zvezda.
Retrieved 18 January 2010.

11. "HdO Adventure series | GamesIndustry International". Gamesindustry.biz. 18

March 2010. Retrieved 2014-06-29.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Three Musketeers.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers at Project Gutenberg. Plain text format.

The Three Musketeers public domain audiobook at LibriVox
History of Dumas' Musketeers, shows links between the characters and actual
history.
Comprehensive collection of Dumas links
The Three Musketeers. Scanned public domain editions in PDF format from
Archive.org, some w/ illustrations, introductions and other helpful material.
"The Paris Of The Three Musketeers", by E. H. Blashfield and E. W. Blashfield.
Scribner's Magazine, August 1890. Cornell University Library.
Cooper, Barbara T., "Alexandre Dumas, pre", in Dictionary of Literary Biography,
Vol. 119: Nineteenth-Century French Fiction Writers: Romanticism and Realism,
18001860, edited by Catharine Savage Brosman, Gale Research, 1992, pp. 98
119.
Hemmings, F. W. J., "Alexandre Dumas Pre", in European Writers: The Romantic
Century, Vol. 6, edited by Jacques Barzun and George Stade, Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1985, pp. 71943.
Foote-Greenwell, Victoria, "The Life and Resurrection of Alexandre Dumas", in
Smithsonian, July 1996, p. 110.
Thayer, Tiffany, "Three Musketeers", New York: Citadel Press, 1939. (On the hard
cover, the title is printed as "Tiffany Thayer's Three Musketeers".)
Discussion of the work, bibliography and links
Bibliography and references for The Three Musketeers