Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers

After having watched the movie by the same name, I was prompted to pick up this classic and actually read it. I also hunted around a bit for the background on the novel. 

Dumas was known more during his time for writing plays than novels. The Three Musketeers was originally published in newspapers as a serial and considered "trashy" during its time. The fact that Dumas was such a prolific writer of swashbuckling adventures probably led to this opinion of him, much the same way people feel about authors such as Stephen King and Dean Koontz now (S.K. I definitely feel will be regarded as a classic writer some day.) 

I never had the opportunity to read it in a classroom setting. That is both good and bad. Good in that I didn't approach this novel with the avarice I occasionally had for a novel I wasforced to read. Bad because I am sure there are hundred of little nuances in the story that I would've benefitted from having them pointed out to me. 

Knowing, however, that this was originally a serial explains a lot of the novel. At times it seems to repeat itself, while at others it seems to become an entirely different story. 

The story takes place in the early 1600's in France during the reign of King Louis XIII. D'Artagnan and his quest to be a Musketeer are the main point of the novel. The Musketeers are the highly-regarded defenders of the King and Queen. Much of this story centers around the Musketeers defending the Queen from the evil Cardinal Richelieu. Along the way there are a wide variety of side-stories and adventures that take place. 

Athos, Aramis, and Porthos are The Three Musketeers. They are each such distinctly different characters who have but the single bond of being Musketeers and loyal to the nobility that hold them together. They answer only to the King himself, as well as the Captain of the Musketeers, Mr. Treville. 

During the course of the novel, the Musketeers encounter love, intrigue, betrayal, and murder. The purely evil and mysterious character of Milady is another foe they must face. Her treachery to King, country and her fellow man will undoubtedly bring her down eventually, but how much damage will she do along the way? 

The novel is an excellent introduction to classic literature for anyone due to the adventure and intrigue. Anyone age twelve and over should be capable of reading it. However, I think to have a deeper appreciation of the novel someone would have to be a bit older. Reading it in a classroom setting if you can avoid the feeling of being forced to read it would probably be great, and I would like to read it again as part of a study program. 

The Three Musketeers is available for free on the web since it is public domain. However, at more than 600 pages in the paperback version I bought, you'd probably end up going through a good bit of toner should you want to print it out. It is also available in ebook form. Be sure to read the unabridged version should you decide to check out this exciting novel. The abridged versions of this book (or just about any book, for that matter) tend to leave out little facts that build up certain characters.