James Mustich's 1000 Books to Read Before You Die discussion

This is a general discussion of The Three Musketeers.
Here's a digital version I've found on Wikipedia.
Due to the lenght of the book, the detailed discussion will be divided into four threads, which can be found here.

Whether you are enjoying this book or not, please take a moment to answer this poll. Thank you!

The Three Musketeers - I did take the first step and purchased the Pevear translation, but am hopelessly behind in my reading.
I am always confused by the sequels. I know Twenty Years After but are there three short books after ending with The Man in the Iron Mask?

@Karen,

I did take the first step and purchased the Pevear translation...

Well done! Don't worry too much about the schedule: it's a long book and it needs some time to be read and enjoyed.

I am always confused by the sequels.

Me too, mostly because the Italian editions are different. Anyway, quoting from Wikipedia:

The d'Artagnan Romances are a set of three novels by Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870), telling the story of the 17th-century musketeer d'Artagnan.
[…]
• The Three Musketeers, set between 1625 and 1628; first published in serial form in the magazine Le Siècle between March and July 1844. Dumas claims in the foreword to have based it on manuscripts he had discovered in the Bibliothèque Nationale.
• Twenty Years After, set between 1648 and 1649; serialized from January to August 1845.
• The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later, set between 1660 and 1673; serialized from October 1847 to January 1850. This vast novel has been split into three, four, or five volumes at various points.

- In the three-volume edition, the novels are titled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Vallière and The Man in the Iron Mask.
- In the four-volume edition, the novels are titled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de la Vallière and The Man in the Iron Mask.
- The five-volume edition generally does not give titles to the smaller portions.

So, it depends on the edition you own...

Is everyone tending to get the Pevear translation? I really enjoyed his War and Peace work, so I decided to try this one out. Although I will say I had more difficulty finding the edition than other books. It seems to not be sold on Amazon at all (although I find searching for classic books on Amazon to be a complete disaster of an experience). It's a little more pricey, but I'm glad Amazon is convincing me to buy from local small book stores.

I've just finished the book and I can't express enough how happy I feel for having accomplished this literary journey! Well-written, with an extraordinary plot and rich in Historical details... I think I'm going to read the other two books of the Trilogy as well, hoping they're as good as this first one (if not better!).

As for the characters, which one is your favorite?
I myself have fallen prey to the influence and charm of Milady...

Mariella wrote: "I've just finished the book and I can't express enough how happy I feel for having accomplished this literary journey! Well-written, with an extraordinary plot and rich in Historical details... I t..."

I'm so glad you liked it. I can't read on a timetable, but still plan on finishing this and the Arthurian long read for summer.

Yes, I want to read this entire Dumas cycle, too. Also, the Valois set beginning with Queen Margot. Let us know how you get on with it, Mariella!

Just finished this one tonight. I had a lot of fun with it! I didn't know how funny it was going to be going into it, there were some great moments that made me laugh.

As for the ending: (view spoiler)[I didn't expect it to be so bittersweet. Given the mostly lightheartedness of the book until the Milady sections, I was expecting a happy ending for everyone. I was genuinely surprised at Madame Bonacieux's death and Milady's fairly solemn execution (hide spoiler)]