The Man in the Iron Mask

by Raymond H. Harris (Adapter), Brendan Lynch (Illustrator), Alexandre Dumas

In a specially adapted version by Raymond H. Harris

Reunited thirty years after their earlier adventures, D'artagnan and The Three Musketeers join forces once again, this time in a daring plot to replace the King of France with a mysterious look-alike! Follow their thrilling adventures as they free a royal prisoner from the Bastille. . .as they place him on the throne. . .and as they suffer the true king's revenge, in this, the last and most exciting tale of The Four Musketeers!

Cover Illustration by Al Leiner

-from the back cover

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Childrens, Young Adult, Literature

239 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eead aloud to my boys.

We loved learning about Alexander Dumas during Black History month and the history of France, this was an excellent time book to read aloud as a family alongside these studies.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Raymond Harris' adaption of Alexander Dumas' "The Man in the Iron Mask" for the Great Illustrated Classic series for this reader is a hit or miss adaption of a story that I didn't really know as a reader. It almost felt like major parts of the plot were left out which has this a major disappointment for this reader. Granted the book is a very easy read (I finished it in an hour), but I do wonder how much was chopped out of this story on the end of "The Three Musketeers" that would've made this more enjoyable.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have finally found the instance in which the movie was better than the book: This abridged version of "The Man in the Iron Mask". It's for young people, to introduce them to classics, but was so terribly chopped up, the 1998 movie was better.

Edited to add: It was still better than "Kidnapped".

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a shortened "Illustrated classics" edition. It was a great story. Maybe I'll read the full version some day! Quite an adventure.

[Renee Boucher · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I went through a period where we read a bunch of these great illustrated versions of classic books. They are easier to read and understand due to them being revised.

[Natalie Nimmers]

Read aloud with my kids as we learned about Louis XIV. They loved it!

[Merthan Tunali · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was interestingly full of grief and despair 😩

[Jean-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This edition of The Man In The Iron Mask is adapted for young readers. It's a great way to introduce this classic to the middle grade set, but I wasn't wowed by the version or the story. There is a lot of senseless violence and aggression. It might be fine for the story's time period, but it doesn't translate well for 2018. In the end, this story isn't my cup of tea. My 11-year-old wasn't impressed either.

[April Hochstrasser · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to like this book. I watched a TV adaptation, and listened to it on CD. I just couldn't understand all the plots going on, all the people involved and in significance of a whole CD devoted to describe what the king was going to wear to a fete. I was totally mixed up and lost the whole time. I must be good, it's a classic, but I didn't get it.

[Michael Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book was good because it had a lot of action and adventure. The daring move that Arrimas and Porthos try to switch the king with his twin brother that his been a prison for his whole life. The reason that I liked this book so much was there was a big problem and there was a chain of events. I really liked The Man In The Iron Mask.

[Slow Man · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can imagine the difficulty to read the original literature after taking a quick look at this version written for younger readers. The plot is way too complicated and one can anticipate a lot of actions and fighting. Enjoyable nevertheless.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josh loved this. I didn't know this story at all so I enjoyed it, too.

[Antoine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good

[Denise Koopman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have watched this movie so many times and I actually bought the dvd. I seen this book at our library and brought it home and read it. Such a great book.

[ashes ➷]

I really just pick books up and read them... anyway, this was easy enough to read just because of the format. The first one I felt seriously abridged the original text.

[Trevor]

This was a very good book. I would recommend this book to everyone who likes older books. It was very interesting and made me feel excited every time I turned the page. If you like excitement, this is the book for you. This book is great for younger people that want to expand their vocabulary.

The only thing I didn't like about this book is the fact that they punished him by putting a iron mask on his face. It seems unnecessary

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read on recommendation by my granddaughter. Not impressed with the story but kids may enjoy them.