Le Vicomte de Bragelonne I

Trilogie des Mousquetaires #3.1

by Alexandre Dumas

Elle vit les yeux humides du roi, son front pâle, ses lèvres convulsives, et s'écria avec un accent que rien ne pourrait rendre :
« Oh ! sire, vous êtes roi, vous pleurez, et je pars ! »
Le roi, pour toute réponse, cacha son visage dans son mouchoir.
L'officier poussa comme un rugissement qui effraya les deux chevaux.
Mlle de Mancini, indignée, quitta le roi et remonta précipitamment dans son carrosse en criant au cocher :
« Partez, partez vite ! »
Le cocher obéit, fouetta ses chevaux, et le lourd carrosse s'ébranla sur ses essieux criards, tandis que le roi de France, seul, abattu, anéanti, n'osait plus regarder ni devant ni derrière lui.

Genres: Classics, Historical Fiction, Fiction, France, Adventure, French Literature, Historical

897 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1850

About the author

This note regards Alexandre Dumas, père, the father of Alexandre Dumas, fils (son). For the son, see Alexandre Dumas fils.

Alexandre Dumas père, born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a towering figure of 19th-century French literature whose historical novels and adventure tales earned global renown. Best known for The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and other swashbuckling epics, Dumas crafted stories filled with daring heroes, dramatic twists, and vivid historical backdrops. His works, often serialized and immensely popular with the public, helped shape the modern adventure genre and remain enduring staples of world literature.
Dumas was the son of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a celebrated general in Revolutionary France and the highest-ranking man of African descent in a European army at the time. His father’s early death left the family in poverty, but Dumas’s upbringing was nonetheless marked by strong personal ambition and a deep admiration for his father’s achievements. He moved to Paris as a young man and began his literary career writing for the theatre, quickly rising to prominence in the Romantic movement with successful plays like Henri III et sa cour and Antony.
In the 1840s, Dumas turned increasingly toward prose fiction, particularly serialized novels, which reached vast audiences through French newspapers. His collaboration with Auguste Maquet, a skilled plotter and historian, proved fruitful. While Maquet drafted outlines and conducted research, Dumas infused the narratives with flair, dialogue, and color. The result was a string of literary triumphs, including The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, both published in 1844. These novels exemplified Dumas’s flair for suspenseful pacing, memorable characters, and grand themes of justice, loyalty, and revenge.
The D’Artagnan Romances—The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte of Bragelonne—cemented his fame. They follow the adventures of the titular Gascon hero and his comrades Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, blending historical fact and fiction into richly imagined narratives. The Count of Monte Cristo offered a darker, more introspective tale of betrayal and retribution, with intricate plotting and a deeply philosophical core.
Dumas was also active in journalism and theater. He founded the Théâtre Historique in Paris, which staged dramatizations of his own novels. A prolific and energetic writer, he is estimated to have written or co-written over 100,000 pages of fiction, plays, memoirs, travel books, and essays. He also had a strong interest in food and published a massive culinary encyclopedia, Le Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine, filled with recipes, anecdotes, and reflections on gastronomy.
Despite his enormous success, Dumas was frequently plagued by financial troubles. He led a lavish lifestyle, building the ornate Château de Monte-Cristo near Paris, employing large staffs, and supporting many friends and relatives. His generosity and appetite for life often outpaced his income, leading to mounting debts. Still, his creative drive rarely waned.
Dumas’s mixed-race background was a source of both pride and tension in his life. He was outspoken about his heritage and used his platform to address race and injustice. In his novel Georges, he explored issues of colonialism and identity through a Creole protagonist. Though he encountered racism, he refused to be silenced, famously replying to a racial insult by pointing to his ancestry and achievements with dignity and wit.
Later in life, Dumas continued writing and traveling, spending time in Belgium, Italy, and Russia. He supported nationalist causes, particularly Italian unification, and even founded a newspaper to advocate for Giuseppe Garibaldi. Though his popularity waned somewhat in his final years, his literary legacy grew steadily. He wrote in a style that was accessible, entertaining, and emotionally reso

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sprawling three-thousand-page saga of the Four Musketeers is the meerschaum pipe of adventure literature. Although it first attracts attention by its intricately carved detail, it is even more remarkable for the way it ages, for it reveals a rich range of colors as it progresses, each darker and more interesting than the one before.

Twenty Years After created a world more cynical, and heroes less intrepid and less unified, than that youthful romp The Three Musketeers, and now, Ten Years Later—as one of the volumes of this two-thousand-word serial continuation is sometimes called—the world revealed is even darker, and the cautious heroes more self-involved, than before.

The nature of the world is most clearly shown by the characters of its royal ministers. The cowardly and miserly Mazarin, who replaced the Musketeer’s fierce enemy the fearless and generous Richelieu, has become more cowardly and miserly than before, and is soon replaced by the two rival ministers Fouquet and Colbert who are concerned not with statecraft but with finance (n addition, of course to gaining ascendancy over one another.)

The musketeers—all in their late forties or fifties—have grown cautious as well: Count Athos strives to create a career for his son Raoul (the Vicomte of the title), Baron Porthos wishes to further his position in society, Bishop Aramis engages in deeper, more inscrutable politics than before, and even Captain D’Artagnan wearies of being a musketeer, discouraged by years of thankless service, disappointed in his callow young king, and—most important of all—worried about his lack of money for a comfortable retirement. It is money—not love or adventure or bravery—that makes this world go round.

And yet there are adventures and bravery here, and a little love too. D’Artagnan and Athos accomplished great things for the exiled Charles II of England, and D’Artagnan—with the assistance of Raoul—battles rioters in the Paris streets. (Characteristically, though, this last heroic deed is also about money. D’Artagnan has become a landlord, and the rioters are trying to burn his building down.) Also, Raoul and Louise are attractive young lovers. But though Raoul is noble and Louise is charming, we somehow sense that—in this darkened world—such love is doomed to fail.

Twenty Years After moves more slowly than The Three Musketeers, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne is slower still. But—like a meerschaum—its coloring is rich and varied.
I have decided to continue with the saga. After all, there are only about thirteen hundred pages left to go.

[Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

In case I haven't made myself perfectly clear, I am 10000% obsessed with this series.

The Musketeers are officially my bros, and when I read about them I imagine them as friends, which means I feel their experiences that much more significantly. I laugh out loud, I grin, I gasp, I tear up, I bite my lip and I'm pretty sure if I had a mustache I would twist it. This series gives me a very serious case of feelings.

I feel sad when I think of how many people never make it this far into the series. Granted, we're getting pretty political now, and there's a lot about the animosity between Focquet and Colbert, and bits and pieces about the governing of France and her relations, so it can be a little more tedious in spots. The Musketeers are divided, and Porthos and Aramis don't even make an appearance until well over halfway through. This book borrows Raoul's title, but he's not a major player, but one can clearly see he personifies a combination of our four favourite heroes so there's a strong desire for more of him.

But there is so much fun to be had within these 650 pages. This book begins with one of d'Artagnan's famous schemes, and it makes me laugh so hard. It's so ridiculous, and I love it the more for that. Athos is still a noble example that counteracts d'Artagnan's impulsiveness, and I love that this friendship is still going strong. My heart pounds harder every time some of the friends are united, and the appearance of Porthos at his time made me want to hug him myself. He's not given nearly enough credit, and every time I read the series I love him more. Aramis is still a cunning fox and I'm saddened every time they lie to one another, even though they still support their friendship. The younger generation that's slowly leaking into the story are actually a lot of fun, and I rather enjoy the relationship between Raoul and the Comte de Guiche. You can feel the tone of the story moving into the new friendships that are being born, so there are new dynamics to play with.

There's no real villain in this story - Mazarin the Miser is less threatening, and Colbert is not yet important enough to be evil, though he's well on his way. The King is still finding his footing, and there are others who have malicious intentions that are easily put down by one of our growing list of heroes.

So to sum up, this book contains a lot more politics, and French history. There are a lot of new names to remember (and this handy edition has a breakdown of characters at the back) but there are still some fun musketeer adventures and daring deeds.

This specific edition, though, includes a lot of notes which bothered me a bit. I didn't think it was necessary to add a note for everything that referred to something from a previous book. We all remember what went down with Milady, yo.

I hope more people get around to reading the entire series, because you've really gotta read how d'Artagnan decides to get rid of Monk. It's my favourite part of the whole book and it's hilarious.


***
Original Review 13/11/13

I love D'Artagnan and his crazy adventures! Some classics, you have to wade through the descriptive literature to find the threads of a story- with the work of Dumas, this is rarely the case. The story is so colourful that the language simply adds a greater depth and poetry that enhances, rather than hinders, the work. The story itself has as much intrigue as the previous Musketeers novels, though the absence of two of the four is sorely missed for a good portion of the book. There's a fair bit of travel but that's nothing unusual, and D'Artagnan is as charming as ever, despite the fact he's getting on in years. Bit of a weird spot to end Part I, but I will be keen to get into the next part!

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most people unfortunately stop reading Dumas after either Count of Monte Cristo or Three Musketeers. Some do brave Twenty Years Later, but many are scared off by the sheer size of the three volume Vicomte ("Vice-Count" or aristocratic rank just under Count and over Baron) of Bragelonne. That is rather unfortunate because for me, it is the pinnacle of Dumas' art. He used ghost writers in much (some would say too much) of his work, but most scholars agree that the lion's share of Vicomte is in Dumas' own hand. And no wonder since he was so invested in these characters. They reminded him of his father (who was screwed over royally by Napoleon despite years of service) and the époque of the Sun King and he achieved some of the most convincing and charismatic characters in French literature. The noble Athos, the innocent and brave d'Artagnon, the titanically strong Porthos and the scheming Artemis - just the names invoke awe and nostalgia. And they are all so unforgettable. In Three Musketeers, they are just cocky young musketeers in some crazy adventures. In Twenty Years later, they are more mature and a bit more developed. But in the Bragelonne series, we have living, breathing characters that grow old and see their friendships strained as they face historical events and their own aging with indifference, misery or opportunity. I can think of few books with four protagonists that are so carefully drawn and so perfectly matched and who have such exciting perilous adventures. This is truly my all-time favorite from Dumas.
This first volume happens soon after Louis XIV takes the throne and includes the drama of Louise de la Valliere which is based on historical incidents. A love triangle develops that will have a huge impact on our four heroes.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can 't believe how much I've been enjoying my rash of Dumas novels lately. I've read the first three D'Artagnan novels in quick succession and cannot recommend them highly enough. This is Volume One of the last book (sometimes referred to as Ten Years Later) to be followed by Louise de Valliere and The Man in the Iron Mask. Of course the novel wasn't originally intended to be split in this way, so the ending tails away a little as we leave the intrigues of Athos and D'Artagnan to put Charles II back on Britain's throne behind and begin the court shenanigans that will comprise volume 2, so I can understand why some will be bemused by this book, but of course unlike The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After this isn't ever supposed to be a complete work, like reading part one of War and Peace and complaining that there wasn't a proper ending. The heroes are all much more world weary now, D'Artagnan is bitter, Porthos is over-settled, Aramis is neck deep in intrigue and Athos is intent on setting his son out into the world properly. Their enemies are small and petty now, compared to Milady and Richelieu of the first book, but that's not the fault of our heroes, and of course taking out your sword to solve a problem can now cause many more problems than it solves. Okay - can't wait to start Louise de Valliere now.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of Dumas' massive Ten Years Later, this returns to the story of our four musketeer friends, now joined by Raoul, the son of Athos. Originally serialised over about 2.5 years, this volume falls into natural sections and there are times where we can almost hear the equivalent of a narrative voice-over saying 'previously in The Three Musketeers...' before reminding us, at some length, of what's gone before.

The first half belongs to d'Artagnan and Athos as, picking up on their failure to save Charles I from execution, they now work to restore Charles II. The politics of the French and English courts come to the fore in the middle section, especially the battle for supremacy between Louis XIV's ministers after the death of Mazarin leaves a power vacuum. And the final section brings both courts together as Henriette is married to Louis' brother Philippe; and the younger Duke of Buckingham follows, almost, his father's footsteps in getting embroiled in amorous French intrigues. It's only in the last third, too, that we re-meet Aramis and Porthos and their mysterious activities on Belle-Isle, a plot strand that comes to greater and significant prominence later.

Dumas, as ever, is brilliantly vivid and energetic as he romps through his adventures, whether the big set-pieces of executions and riots, or the more intimate verbal duels and confrontations that abound. There's less amorous romance now that our musketeers are older in years, and Raoul's love for Louise de la Valliere is sweet rather than passionate.

D'Artagnan's character is perhaps the most interesting here: cynical yet loyal, disillusioned yet hopeful, and the scenes between him and Raoul, and him and Athos, recall the earlier books' emphasis on male friendship.

This is perfect reading for anyone who loved the BBC series Versailles, set as it is at the start of Louis's adult reign. The notes to this Oxford edition are excellent on the politics and personages of C17th France though do beware of some slight spoilers if you're not familiar with the story.

[Haaze · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Sizzling French Court
The Vicomte de Bragelonne carries on the story of Twenty Years After. It appears as if Dumas and his cohort had a long story to tell as this third volume is the first of the original mega volume. Nowadays it is traditionally published in three parts out of which this book is the first one. The main characters of d’Artagnan, Porthos, Athos and Artemis still figure in this novel, but their presence is diminished and replaced by other characters. I feel as if the reader to some degree leave them behind as slowly descending stars and forcefully enter the realm of historical fiction – a template of well depicted historical figures and places. Even though I somewhat grieve the humor and escapades of the four heroes, I still very much enjoy the court intrigues in the 1660s France with sojourns to Normandy as well as England. The old translation provides a wonderful escape to this time period as Dumas manages to paint characters and situations with his usual eloquence and fierceness. It is definitely a Dumas summer! Onwards to Louise de La Vallière!

[The Immersion Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished it! It took me longer to complete this book than it did War and Peace! I should reconsider my obsessive compulsion toward unabridged literature and my inability to accept a blemish on my record of consecutive completed reads. This book just dragged on and on and on and on and...

As the third installment of the d'Artagnan Romances, this book serves as a transition from the notorious three musketeers and their Gascon friend to the lives of other French and English characters - youth usurping inevitable age and power subverting nobility. We get a mere glimpse of Porthos and Aramis, a small portion more of Athos in order to indulge his iron-clad honor and still only a bit more of d'Artagnan who reaches the age of retirement and moves his focus from reckless gallivanting and adventure for material comforts which compromise his character. Our friends simply serve to contrast the new kids on the block, to show the reader a transitioning world through politics and the integrity of a culture.

I did not find the story bad. I found the tedious nature of its telling nearly unbearable. As a serialized story bound together in, not one, but three novels, I have to scold the publishing world for trapping a novel-readers mind, habits and expectations in a story with no arc. It just keeps going! The novel form does not fully captivate this story. Would one staple all the scripts in one TV show season together and release it as a novel? It felt like sitting on a bench watching the people walk by. At first, you absorb yourself in the drama between the first passing couple. But then you try and care about the grimy homeless guy who followed while still thinking about the drama between the couple. Then the studious girl after him just frustrates you and you want to go home.

I liked the story. I found its telling nearly unbearable. I will wait a while before starting Louise de La Valliere which I will eventually read only because of my obsessive compulsion to finish the series and my general inability to leave a literary investment unsatisfied.

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great addition to "Three Musketeers Series." Can't wait to get on to the next, but I must.

Thought it was amusing that the title's namesake didn't really appear much in the book until the end. And it was actually quite a cliffhanger at the end there.

I like the characters even more as they age. They're all in their late 50's now. I like their mature selves and the more mature reflections they make. I love this description of D'Artagnan at this period of his life:

"He had all the passions, all the defects, all the weaknesses, and a constitutional spirit of contradiction which changed all these imperfections into corresponding qualities. D'Artagnan, thanks to his ever active imagination, was afraid of a shadow, and ashamed of being afraid, he marched straight up to that shadow, and then became extravagant in his bravery, if the danger proved to be real. Thus everything in him was emotion, and therefore enjoyment. He loved the company of others, but never became tired of his own; and more than once, if he could have heard when he was alone, he might have been seen laughing at the jokes he told to himself, or the tricks his imagination created..." (161)

As this series progresses the themes and writing becomes richer and threaded with more meaning. Still, not altogether altering--but worth reading and appreciatind and reveling in.

Some nice quotes:

"Avarice dries up the heart, and prodigality drowns it..."(255)

"Debts terrify me. Creditors appear to me, by anticipation, like those devils who turn the damned on spits, and as patience is not my dominant virtue, I am always tempted to thrash them." (283)

"Sinners are always so forgetful beforehand, and so scrupulous when it is too late." (Priest to Cardinal Mazarin on his deathbed, 314)

"Incredulity! thou are the pest of all great minds." (397)

"To be thanked for having done one's duty is humiliating." (402)

Dumas often laments the passing of the "real men" in this novel. Here are some of his thoughts...

"...the time had passed when nobles fought duels; but that the feeling of hatred treasured up in the mind, instead of being diffused abroad, was still hatred all the same; that a smile was sometimes as full of meaning as a threat; and, in a word, that to the fathers who had hated with their hearts and fought with their arms, would now succeed sons, who would indeed hate with their hearts, but would no longer combat their enemies save by means of intrigue or treachery." (578)

And finally:

The Queen Mother to her 2nd son: "Never tyrranize over a wife--never behave too haughtily or imperiously toward her. A woman unwillingly convinced is unconvinced." :)

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3½ stars. I was a bit surprised to have the book end as I still had several CDs of the audiobook to go! This discrepancy is annoying but understandable as both the book and the audiobook are just the first part of the book Dumas originally wrote as the final novel of the d'Artagnan trilogy. This last book was so enormous that it is almost always divided into 3, 4, or even 5 separate volumes. I am reading the Project Gutenberg Kindle editions which are using the 4 volume division (although there was a nice little note showing where the book would have ended in a 5 volume split!). I thought that the audiobook I was listening to was also from a 4 volume split but perhaps it was from a 3 volume split instead.

I found sections of this volume very interesting (such as the parts about General Monk) but some of it was rather too long-winded (even for me!). Despite the title, the main character of this is our friend d'Artagnan. Porthos and Aramis don't appear until quite close to the end (Chapter 70 or so), which was a bit disappointing. Athos was present for much of the story although he and d'Artagnan were working at cross purposes for a while. As in the previous book, Twenty Years After, the four friends are not in close contact as the book opens & sadly are once again split in their loyalties, although this time it is d'Artagnan and Athos on the side of Charles II & Louis XIV versus Porthos and Aramis on the side of Fouquet. In Twenty Years After, d'Artagnan and Porthos eventually do come together with Athos and Aramis on the side of Charles I against Mazarin. I hope the 4 come together in the next book!

[Jenny T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I confess to strong bias: Dumas is my favorite author. Even when his prose is at its purplest, it makes my heart beat a little faster.

Book 1 in The Vicomte de Bragelonne (a single LONG work broken into three books, of which this is the first, that culminates in and ends the Musketeer Saga with The Man in the Iron Mask) was excellent. D'Artagnan, who has always seemed flamboyantly over-cocky, is more grown-up now, and the power-mad Cardinal Richelieu has been replaced with the power-mad Mazarin and a very young Louis XIV, who is just starting to become the Sun King.

The history, though gently mangled by Dumas, is easier to follow here. There are plenty of secret plots, much manly chest-beating and defenses of honor, a touch of a love story or two, and a hint of derring-do. I live for this stuff.

Also, I have to add that the Oxford World's Classics edition has pages of good historical and literary notes, and there's a really good list of historical personages that appear in the saga.

[Beth Cato · Rating 4 out of 5]

This continuation of the Three Musketeers follows them well into middle age. There are still swordfights, court intrigues, and acts of daring-do, but also gout and disillusion. The friendship between the men is not what it was, but the respect and fondness are still there. The younger generation, including the titular Vicomte de Bragelonne, also play larger roles.

I was more engaged when characters like D'Artagnan and Raoul were on the page than other, less-pleasant figures of court. I did skim some. Dumas's action and zingy dialogue remain fantastic. The book does feel long, though. So very long. And there are two more books (not included in this volume, despite confusing wording at the start of this edition) to complete this arc of the musketeers' lives.

[S. ≽^•⩊•^≼ I'm not here yet · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب سوم از مجموعه دارتن‌یان در ترجمعه 10 جلدی سه تفنگدار ذبیح‌الله منصوری از جلد چهارم فصل 142 سال 1660 شروع میشود تا آخر فصل 205 از کتاب ششم

[Reni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is something of a mixed bag. In this first part of the four volume translation of the final book of Dumas' musketeer saga, we are not only introduced to a host of new characters, but also encounter a lot of different themes and plot-threads, some of which intersted me more than others (which accounts for the less than stellar, but still satisfied rating).

Predictably I was the most fond of d'Artagnan and Athos' trip to England, as the respective chapters read very much like they could have been taken from the earlier novels. It also made a point of distinguishing between kings and royalty and the importance of loyalty to the principle rather than the people, a theme that carries over from Raoul's plot in the last book, and will no doubt also feature prominently in the following volumes, considering how the last volume ends.

One of the most prominent themes introduced in this volume is the change of the guard: d'Artagnan resigns his comission disappointed with how faint-hearted, how little adventurous he finds the new king, and how little he feels his particular talents are valued by this new generation. At the same time Mazarin, the antagonist for most of the last book, passes away, his replacement even more of a grey character, and far less of an opponent than either of his predecessors. Raoul meanwhile is set to replace his father and his friends in a more direct way, yet even he appears distinctly more sober and delicate than our former heroes.

What I really found curious is how Colbert is often associated with negative images like "black wings" when it is pretty obvious throughout that from a choice of Colbert or Fouquet, Colbert is the better man. Fouguet might aspire to the ideals of honour of old, he might claim extreme loyalty towards his friends, but his gentlemanly honour and grand lifestyle certainly don't stop him from embezzling and conspiring against his king to safeguard his own fortune. Meanwhile Colbert might be extremely strict and severe in executing his duties, but at least he's not corrupt. So I'm wondering where this set-up will lead, because right now the book fails in making me sympathise with Fouquet over Colbert.

[Maricarmen Estrada M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encanta Dumas. Esta serie de libros es divertidísima: las situaciones, los enredos, las aventuras... Muy recomendable. Y lo que más me gusta es la forma cómo se resaltan los valores como el honor, la lealtad, la amistad.la lectura es muy ágil. Dumas parece a ratos un autor mucho más contemporáneo.

[Shadin Pranto · Rating 4 out of 5]

আবারো মঞ্চে হাজির থ্রি মাস্কেটিয়ার্স। এবার তাদের অভিযান রাজা চতুর্দশ লুই এবং রাজ্যহারা দ্বিতীয় চার্লসকে সাহায্য করতে। দ্যুমোর অন্যসব কাহিনির মতো এটিও থ্রিলার আর সাসপেন্সের ককটেল।

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Well, monsieur, he kept his word. He is dead!"

"Dead! Who killed him?"

"A demon disguised as a man, a giant armed with ten flaming swords—a madman, who at one blow extinguished the fire, put down the riot, and caused a hundred musketeers to rise up out of the pavement of the Greve."

(~1848) The Vicomte de Bragelonne is the last book of The Three Musketeers series and is actually around 2,000 pages. In English, the tradition has been to divide it into three fabricated novels. This is the first, Louise de la Vallière the second, and The Man in the Iron Mask the last. To rate and review them separately, therefore, is kind of arbitrary, but it helps get a handle on it.

The subtitle is Ten Years Later. So, we are ten years past 20 Years After, the second book in the series. That makes our friend d’Artagnan 54, and the year 1660, the time of the restoration of the Stuart monarchy (thanks to the musketeers, of course). Even though the titular character is Raoul, the rather humorless bastard son of Athos, we all know the real hero of this grand finale is the brave Gascon.

“I don't belong to this age; I have still one foot in the old one; it results that everything is strange in my eyes, everything astonishes and bewilders me.”

Dumas continues some of the themes from Twenty Years After, of aging, of disappointments (especially compared to successful friends), and adds that of alienation—of a great, older generation looking with sadness upon a spiritless younger one, here embodied in King Louis XIV. “Oh,” d’Artagnan thinks to himself, “if I were but twenty-five! If I had by my side those I no longer have! If I did not despise the whole world most profoundly… " However, these melancholy notes are but a prelude, a little self-pitying indulgence before Dumas turns it all around. “D’Artagnan Is Rich” would perhaps be a more appropriate title for this volume, since part of the pleasure is to see the perpetually down-on-his-luck soldier of fortune finally enjoy a well-deserved prosperity.

"Then, reverend father, I have truly a clean breast. I feel nothing remaining but slight peccadilloes."

"What are they?"

"Play."

"That is rather worldly: but you were obliged by the duties of greatness to keep a good house."

"I like to win."

"No player plays to lose."

"I cheated a little."

"You took your advantage. Pass on."

Taken as the first third of a novel, Dumas begins in the entertaining yet relaxed manner of a man pacing himself for more serious things. Some of the chapters, like the Confession of a Man of Wealth, are purely comic, of a humor Woody Allen would approve. Often the adventures are abortive, the plots foiled, and the machinations parried, like two swordsmen feeling each other out.

"’There is the signal,’ added he; and he immediately applied the burning brand to the wainscoting.”

Robert Louis Stevenson, whose rapturous praise of the final installment is worth reading on its own (it was his favorite novel), nevertheless conceded the work “goes heavily” in the beginning, specifically until chapter 17. I wouldn’t go that far. I was perking up around chapter 10. Throughout the book Dumas does keep most of his gunpowder dry. You only get sporadic flourishes of those dramatic moments that are the hallmark of his art. When they spring on you, you are reminded of what elevates him from the merely great (him and Maquet, that is. I mustn’t forget Maquet). Still, I could live in this book: the heroics, the insecurities. The battle of wits, the resignation. The fine feelings and camaraderie, to say nothing of the glorious trash-talk. The variety of characters and locales, incomparably French, from Parisian squares to country taverns to a lone Breton isle. Good food, good Anjou wine. For all the high romance, Dumas’ works are so human.


________________
Marginalia:

*At one point, three o’clock in the morning is described as “break of day.” I’ve noticed this in other old books. Was dawn earlier in the past?

*Speaking of which, Dumas is always eloquent on the tortures of having to wake up from deep sleep. D’Artagnan—I was interested to read—seems content to get six hours of sleep and even after a fatiguing day feels fresh after five. Aramis, on the other hand, says he requires seven hours. This is apparently unusual enough to require reminding—at least to d’Artagnan.


Another good quote:

“I possess nothing. I am no more king of France than you are king of England. I am a name, a cipher dressed in fleur-de-lised velvet,—that is all.”

[sharpdelilaah · Rating 5 out of 5]

j’aime tellement la nouvelle génération.. raoul, de guiche et buckingam…. aussi d’artagnan est tellement vieux con coded c’est trop marrant. il en a plus rien à foutre il dit mordioux à tout va.. ma vie. mon seul grief contre ce livre c’est qu’on voit les voit pas assez ensemble, surtout athos… ma vie… il me manque … aussi j’aime pas trop qu’aramis devienne full religieux comme ça la j’espere que c un leurre … par contre j’étais bien heureuse de les voir en bretagne hihihhi.. AUSSI le plan de d’artagnan pr restaurer la couronne d’angleterre est juste hilarant .. et si on mettait monsieur dans une tres grande boite MDRR

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, at this point, I think I need to be clear about what series I am reading and commenting on. The D'Artagnan Romances were all originally published as serials, and they were later published in book form as a trilogy:

Book 1: The Three Musketeers
Book 2: Twenty Years After
Book 3: Ten Years Later

Apparently, Ten Years Later is such a tome that it has been further split into 3, 4, or 5 volumes, depending on the publisher. I am reading a set of FREE ebooks available on Amazon.com, and this series consists of a 4-volume version of Ten Years Later. This means I have read / will be reading these ebooks:

Book 1: The Three Musketeers
Book 2: Twenty Years After
Book 3a: The Vicomte de Bragelonne
Book 3b: Ten Years Later
Book 3c: Louise de la Vallière
Book 3d: The Man in the Iron Mask

So, on to my thoughts of The Vicomte de Bragelonne...

Even more than the first two books, The Vicomte de Bragelonne is slow to start. This book seems to be named about as appropriately as The Three Musketeers, which is to say, not very appropriately at all. (The Three Musketeers, of course, follows FOUR close friends in the King's service - D'Artagnan especially - not just Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.) In The Vicomte de Bragelonne, we get a brief glimpse of the Vicomte de Bragelonne at the very beginning, but then he goes his own way, and we don't see him again until about two-thirds of the way through the book. At best he is a supporting character, so why name the book after him?!

We trudge through some preliminary scenes that set the stage, and D'Artagnan - our protagonist - doesn't even enter until about 11% into the Kindle version I am reading. We are immediately faced with a major question about D'Artagnan, but rest assured, Dumas will explain everything in due time. Athos comes in around 22% into the Kindle version, and that's when the story really picks up.

This installment has even more politics than the first two books, which - despite the fact that I am quite interested in real-life politics - made for less interesting reading for me. At times, when the story focused on Monk or Mazarin, it seemed like nothing was really happening, and I was just waiting for the next adventure or intrigue to start. The adventures, of course, were nothing less than what you would expect from D'Artagnan!

Unlike the first two books, there was no central antagonist in this one - no Milady or Mordaunt to tie all the adventures into one cohesive story. Sure, I do wonder how King Louis IV will reign (because I have no knowledge of French history, remember), but that's not exactly a pressing plot. Ultimately, I suppose I should cut this ebook some slack, since it was never meant to be one self-contained novel, and instead is just one excerpt of a seriously long serial.

Porthos doesn't make his entrance until 90% into the Kindle edition, but what an entrance it is! I love that guy. Aramis comes in even later.

As usual, I appreciate the sense of honor portrayed in the series, particularly from Athos. At one point, he tells Charles II, "I am never happy when I have a duty to accomplish." Another favorite quote comes from D'Artagnan: "We are not truly generous and good save from the moment when the eye has become hardened, and the heart remains tender." This statement kind of sums up the passing of time for the four friends - together they have seen war and death and betrayal, yet each holds the others in a special place in his heart, and they remain loyal to each other.

Just as in Twenty Years After, it really kills me that the four friends aren't forever on the same side. In Twenty Years After, there were divisions, but at least no real harm was done, in the end. This book takes it one step farther, and though I don't know how it will all end, right now, sadly, it seems the four friends no longer follow their "one for all" motto, and instead, at least one of them seems to be thinking only of himself.

As this is only the first part of the original book, the ending is pretty abrupt. I've already got the next ebook queued up on my Kindle.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the true spirit of friendship, I've come to rely on this series for more than just a story to enjoy. Dumas and his band of brothers have become a refuge and a joy, and even the slow chapters, made up of pages awash with palatial politics, are comforting.

For those wishing for more adventures of d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, though, prepare to be slightly disappointed. For most of the book, they aren't even in the same city. Actually, for most of the book, we don't even see Porthos and Aramis. At the beginning, when d'Artagnan goes in search of his friends, he learns only that they are off together on a mysterious errand. And that's about all we hear of them for the next 450 pages.

Instead, d'Artagnan is broke (which he's unhappy about) and feels redundant and useless (which he's even more unhappy about.) The young king and the entirety of his court is under Cardinal Mazarin's thumb. d'Artagnan, frustrated with everything, quits his position as a musketeer.

Once a musketeer, always a musketeer, however, and it's not long before he gets wind of the English king Charles, seeking to come back to England's throne with the help of France. Well! Nothing like an impossible plot for our spirited hero, and d'Artagnan whips up a truly splendid and truly outrageous plan and is back in royal service.

Meanwhile, Athos, smart and forever the gentleman, is also quietly working towards the same end, although he and d'Artagnan are unaware of each other's schemes. Eventually, after a pretty fun hundred-odd pages, the old friends reunite.

It all slows down after that, because the book becomes mired in political and financial strategy. Spoiler alert: Mazarin dies, and his successors vie for French power at the same time that the young King Louis is tested.

Meanwhile, the "next generation" is up and coming with Louis, Charles and his sister Henrietta, Athos' son Raoul and his friends. They lack the energy and presence of the original Musketeers and I read in one of the footnotes that it's on purpose: their slightly passive, romantic personalities were Dumas' way of critiquing the next generation. He found them too soft.

As always, whenever the original four Musketeers show up, the narrative gains a sharper edge and a focused energy: everything becomes funnier or riskier or just plain more interesting. It's cool how Dumas allows his characters to actually age, and he definitely points out the weaknesses that each of the four men have. In particular, Dumas shows us that they are their best selves when they are together; d'Artagnan's edges always soften with Athos, and the Comte's adventurous spirit is brought out by his friend. I can't think of another book that explores male friendship so well or so deeply.

This book feels like a "middle" book. The stage is very slowly set with new players among the old, and the plot is mostly something that sneaks up on you. Once we do catch up with Porthos and Aramis on Belle-Île-en-Mer, everything comes together quickly, and fate feels set in motion.

The adventures of the Musketeers have lost their defiant youth, but they've lost none of their spirit and plotting. Even some of their brazen heroics come forward and shine. I can't wait for more of them in Louise de La Vallière. Next!

[Duffy Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The D'Artagnan books are a trilogy - The Three Musketeers, 20 Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne. I'm actually not sure what the French name is for this 3000 page monster. It gets divided up into 3, 4 or sometimes 5 volumes. I'm reading a Kindle version which is in four volumes, each at a modest 750 pages or so. And this is the first installment.

Like all the D'Artagnan books, this is great fun. This one involves Louis XIV as he ascends to the throne, and what he needs to do to get out from under the thumb of Mazarin. D'Artagnan is disgusted with Louis, largely because Louis considers himself unable to help Charles regain the throne of England. Naturally, since Louis can't help, D'Artagnan decides that he will get back the throne for Charles all by himself. Athos, it appears, has similar plans, and the two of them acting independently of each other, and somewhat at odds, manage to accomplish the task.

D'Artagnan then gets re-enlisted into Louis service, where his is finally made the head of the Musketeers. He is also given considerable license to act on his own, and is made into a spy for Louis, who needs information about certain nobles who are threats to his power base. While spying, he encounters his friends Porthos and Aramis, who are working somewhat at odds with him (especially Aramis, who always seems to be a bit of a snake). There is a race back to Paris with the news of what D'Artagnan has learned, and a certain amiable tension has been established between D'Artagnan and Aramis.

This is an extraordinary amount of good stuff in what amounts to the first act of a very, very long book. I'm halfway through volume two right now, and it is considerably different that what has come before, but just as fun. These D'Artagnan books are just wonderful, about as good as this sort of light historical romance can get.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

While The Vicomte de Bragelonne was still an enjoyable read, I did find it the least entertaining of the D'Artagnan series. It was fun to see the Musketeers take part in historical events (with the occasional anachronism), but the story in this book was not as captivating to me as the action that takes place in other volumes. But it's a middle book in many ways and is really just helping to set the scene for the final two books, thus it forms an important part of the series as a whole even if it doesn't stand up as well on it's own. As such, I am giving it four stars.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is May 1660 and the fate of nations is at stake. Mazarin plots, Louis XIV is in love, and Raoul de Bragelonne, son of Athos, is intent on serving France and winning the heart of Louise de la Valliere. D'Artagnan, meanwhile, is perplexed by a mysterious stranger, and soon he learns that his old comrades already have great projects in hand.

[Jerome Berglund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming and informative as always <3

[Kayse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abrupt ending, but I guess that’s to be expected, since it’s technically only a third of a novel.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s good, but god I can’t believe there’s 3 more volumes of it.

[Skallagrimsen]

While I can honestly say I read The Vicomte de Bragelonne and its sequel Louise de la Valliere around 1991, I won't swear I was always paying attention. As hope that these ponderous volumes would ever engage me dwindled into nothingness, reading on became ever more an act of loyalty to the author, then finally an exercise in sheer stubbornness.

The Three Musketeers remains my favorite novel to this day. I've read it half a dozen times. Twenty Years After is a worthy follow up. I wanted to love these further installments of the series, too. And I tried. But I just couldn't. Decades later, I remember almost nothing about The Vicomte de Bragelonne and Louise de la Valliere other than what a tedious chore they were to get through. It's possible that the older and wiser me, who knows exponentially more about seventeenth century French history, might discover elements to appreciate in them that my younger self simply could not. But I am unlikely to ever find out. My days of reading long novels are over. The odds I would ever even attempt to re-read them are all-but nil.

I'm pleased to report that The Man in the Iron Mask, the final installment of the Musketeer Saga, represents a complete return to form, a satisfying and appropriately thrilling sendoff for some of the most iconic heroes in modern literature. It's telling, I think, that The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask have been adapted over and over into cinema, while Bragelonne and Valliere have never, to my knowledge, been filmed even once.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

All you really need to know about Dumas's Vicomte de Bragelonne (or, The Three Musketeers 3.0) can be inferred by the title of chapter 73, which begins page 547 with the (presumably) unintentionally ironic "In Which We At Length See the True Heroine of This History Reappear."

The aforementioned true heroine, yet another blushing nothing from the Dumas stable of uninteresting nice girls, is Louise de la Valliere, who presumably we'll spend more time with in the next volume in the series as it bears her name. Here she crops up just long enough to annoy me, get played by her scheming friend Montalais (who I already stan as an icon), and be in love with the titular Vicomte de Bragelonne, Raoul - a/k/a, Athos's bastard son by Aramis's ex-girlfriend. There's some additional hand-waving that Dumas attempts to pass off as plot - yet another trip to England on behalf of the British monarchy, a bit of espionage, a lot of palace intrigue - but it all feels like inconsequential set up for the remainder of the series.

And what of our Musketeers? Well, D'Artagnan - still disaffected - doesn't turn up until fifty pages in. Athos appears a hair before that, but given that he's still a screaming misogynist (he literally has his butler send the man's wife to Paris because Athos decides she's a noisy scold, which I read as "didn't put up with Athos's privileged bullshit") and fanatical monarchist I'm not sure that's a good thing. In a realignment from Twenty Years After, D'Artagnan and Athos team up to lend an assist first to Charles II then to Louis XIV. Opposing team Porthos and Aramis finally put in an entertaining appearance around the five hundred page mark and immediately make you wish Dumas had allocated his point of view differently.

As to the Vicomte, for a title character Raoul doesn't get much attention, unless it's Dumas's narration telling us he's a bit of a wimp - something directly contradicted by a fairly spectacular thrown-down Raoul engages in at the end of the novel, in which he sets straight two lovesick lords, buckles his swash, then delivers one of the better verbal set-downs in all Musketeer canon.

While I clearly lost patience with this book, I do want to shout-out at least one beloved character: the much-maligned but hero-hearted horse Ferret, who D'Artagnan rides while on a secret mission for the king. Given his noble performance, and the fact he gets more screen time than Porthos and Aramis combined, I'm nominating Ferret as the fifth musketeer. Someone get that horse a plumed hat - and Dumas a judicious editor.

[rinabeana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is listed on Wikipedia as one of the longest novels ever written and I can understand that! It took me a long time to read, partly because I didn't have huge stretches of time to devote to it and partly because it was massive. The book is often split into three to four parts, including The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de la Vallière, and The Man in the Iron Mask. I didn't find the first three parts nearly as captivating as the last chapter in the saga of the Musketeers. This is probably because much of it was about the court of King Louis XIV. I detested all the figures of the court because they were mean-spirited and self-centered. It seemed that all they did was cause trouble for each other and treat everyone miserably. Even when our four favorite Musketeers behaved selfishly, they retained their noble character, especially compared to the awful people who surrounded them. I enjoyed the parts with Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan, but I didn't care for La Vallière very much, especially after she broke Raoul's heart. How she could love the wretched King is beyond me! At any rate, the saga ended with a bang because I really enjoyed the story of The Man in the Iron Mask, even though I'd read it before. Everything was put into context after I'd read the middle of the story. After investing so much time into the story of the Musketeers I was quite broken up at the end when they died (which isn't really a spoiler since the story spans over 40 years!).

[Rodica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have very vivid memories about reading this book during one of my summer vacations, in my grandparents bedroom, with the windows covered in white paper (they had to cut a very big tree that was providing shade to that side of the building and there were no blinds available to buy in the early 90s post-soviet union). I think I was sick, because I remember laying on a bunch of pillows in that quiet room with it filtered light and reading Viscount of Bragellone. My grandparents had a very beautiful collectible edition of Dumas’ works - hardcover, bound in green leather and with colored illustrated inserts. 14 volumes of the most important works.

I could not get into it. I was 11 or 12, maybe even younger and the plot seemed convoluted and the musketeers - depressed, old and very unappealing. How could these be the same characters I read with such rapture a year prior? Where was the passion? The spunk? I don’t remember all the plot details - there is a multitude of characters, lots of intrigue (but of course), even more politics than before. It was clearly not the book for me at that age. I think I would appreciate it way more now, as an adult.

But that edition, though... Sigh... even though I rarely read fiction books on paper now, I miss the feel of the books that “made my childhood”.

[Ensiform · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edited (from "the classic translation") and richly annotated by David Coward. This Oxford World's Classics edition contains an Introduction, a Chronology of Dumas' life, a List of Historical Characters and the aforementioned annotation.

Since these 658 pages make up only one third of the entire continuing saga, it's hard to rate this book: it breaks off abruptly, with Athos about to go take revenge on a slanderer. A lot happens in this segment, most notably the restoration of Charles II to the English throne; the death of Cardinal Mazarin and Louis XIV coming into his own; plus d'Artagnan becoming rich, as well as the right hand man of Louis. This part of the epic doesn't have any especially evil characters like Mordaunt or Milady; de Wardes is a mere annoyance, Mazarin no scheming Richelieu. The solidarity of the Musketeers is all but forgotten, with Aramis playing Porthos off d'Artagnan, to whom he is fully opposed, and Athos always doing his own thing. The Vicomte of the title, Raoul, is a minor character, but his romance with Louise de la Vallière proceeds nicely. Even though it doesn't have the force of its predecessors, this epic is imaginative and entertaining, as well as exceedingly clever in the ways in which it blends historical events with fictional plots.