25% Off Pre-Order Books with Code: PREORDER25 for Premium & Reward Members Shop Now

The Three Musketeers

Add to Wishlist

The Three Musketeers

Hardcover(Reissue)

$15.99

View All Available Formats & Editions

Hardcover(Reissue)
$15.99

View All Available Formats & Editions

SHIP THIS ITEM

Qualifies for Free Shipping
PICK UP IN STORE
Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Available within 2 business hours

Want it Today?
Check Store Availability

Related collections and offers

Want it Today?
Check Store Availability

Overview

Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautifully bound pocket-sized gift editions of much loved classic titles. Bound in real cloth, printed on high quality paper, and featuring ribbon markers and gilt edges, Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

It is 1625 and France is under threat. D’Artagnan, a young nobleman, sets off to Paris to seek his fortune as a member of the King's Guard and befriends three musketeers - the mysterious Athos, ambitious and romantic Aramis, and bumbling Porthos. Together the friends must use all their guile and ingenuity to outwit the dastardly schemes of Cardinal Richelieu and the glamorous spy, Milady.

As fresh and entertaining today as when it was first written, The Three Musketeers is a gripping adventure story of daring sword fights, romances, espionage and murder.

This sensitively abridged Macmillan Collector’s Library edition features an afterword by Peter Harness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781509842933
Publisher:	Macmillan Collector's Library
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	686
Sales rank:	368,108
Product dimensions:	3.70(w) x 6.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Alexandre Dumas was born in France in 1802, the son of the half-Creole aristocrat, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. In early adulthood, he took work as a clerk, met the renowned actor Talma, and began to write short pieces for the theatre. Dumas later turned his hand to novel-writing, and penned such classics as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. After enduring a short period of bankruptcy, Dumas began to travel extensively, still keeping up a prodigious output of journalism, short fiction and novels. He had around forty mistresses in his lifetime and fathered at least four illegitimate children, including Alexandre Dumas, fils, who later wrote La Dame aux Camélias. He died in Dieppe in 1870.

Read an Excerpt

Introdction xi

Author's Preface xxi

I The Three Presents of Monsieur d'Artagnam the Elder 3

II The Antechamber of Monsieur de Tréville 20

III The Audience 31

IV The Shoulder of Athos, the Baldric of Porthos, and the Handkerchief of Aramis 43

V The King's Musketeers and the Cardinal's Guards 52

VI His Majesty King Louis XIII 64

VII The Domestic Life of the Musketeers 85

VIII A Court Intrigue 95

IX D'Artagnan Begins to Show Himself 104

X A Seventeenth-Century Mousetrap 114

XI The Plot Thickens 126

XII George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham 145

XIII Monsieur Bonacieux 154

XIV The Man of Meung 164

XV Men of the Robe and Men of the Sword 176

XVI In Which Séguier, the Keeper of the Seals, Looks More Than Once for the Bell He Used to Ring 186

XVII In the Bonacieux Household 199

XVIII The Lover and the Husband 214

XIX Plan of Campaign 222

XX The Journey 232

XXI The Comtesse de Winter 245

XXII The Ballet of La Merlaison 257

XXIII The Rendezvous 265

XXIV The Pavilion 277

XXV The Mistress of Porthos 288

XXVI The Thesis of Aramis 308

XXVII The Wife of Athos 327

XXVIII The Return 348

XXIX The Hunt for Equipment 364

XXX Milady 374

XXXI English and French 384

XXXII Dinner at the Prosecutor's 392

XXXIII Mistress and Maid 402

XXXIV Concernig the Equipment of Aramis and Porthos 413

XXXV At Night All Cats Are Gray 422

XXXVI Dreams of Vengeance 430

XXXVII Milady's Secret 439

XXXVIII How Athos, Without Inconveniencing Himself, Acquired His Equipment 446

XXXIX An Apparition 456

XL The Cardinal 466

XLI The Siege of La Rochelle 476

XLII The Anjou Wine 490

XLIII The Inn at Colombire-Rouge 499

XLIV On the Utility of Stovepipes 509

XLV A Conjugal Scene 518

XLVI The Bastion of Saint-Gervais 525

XLVII The Council of the Musketeers 534

XLVIII A Family Affair 554

XLIX The Hand of Fate 571

L A Conversation Between Brother and Sister 580

LI "Officer!" 588

LII The First Day of Captivity 600

LIII The Second Day of Captivity 608

LIV The Third Day of Captivity 616

LV The Fourth Day of Captivity 626

LVI The Fifth Day of Captivity 635

LVII A Scene from Classical Tragedy 652

LVIII Escape 660

LIX What Happened at Portsmouth on 23 August 1628 670

LX In France 683

LXI The Carmelite Convent at Béthune 689

LXII Two Varieties of Demon 703

LXIII A Drop of Water 711

LXIV The Man in the Red Cloak 727

LXL Judgment 733

LXVI Execution 743

LXVII Conclusion 749

Epilogue 759

Dramatis Personae: Historical Characters 761

Notes on the Text of The Three Musketeers 772

Acknowledgments 791

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Rollicking."
— Independent

"Dumas is a master of ripping yarns full of fearless heroes, poisonous ladies and swashbuckling adventurers."
— Guardian

"The Napoleon of storytellers."
— Washington Post

Reading Group Guide

1. Discuss Dumas's use of historical events in the novel. Do you think a knowledge of history is necessary or unnecessary in order to enjoy the novel? Discuss the ways in which Dumas alters or takes liberties with real events in order to suit the story. Is his view of history sanitized in any way?

2. Dumas is thought of as the chief popularizer of French Romantic drama. In considering The Three Musketeers, do you think this reputation is an accurate one? How does Dumas use dramatic effect in the novel?

3. Contemporary critics were offended by the scenes depicting vice and violence in the novel. Do you find these scenes arbitrary or not?

4. Many critics have described the musketeers as well-developed stereotypes, but are there ways in which the musketeers transcend these stereotypes? Are there other, perhaps more complex ways of interpreting the four protagonists?

5. Discuss Dumas's female characters, in particular Milady. What is her role in the novel, and what does this reveal about Dumas's views of women, if anything? Does Dumas depict a war between the sexes?

6. How do the chapter endings contribute to Dumas's masterly maintenance of pace? How does this kind of device recall a play, and how does this speak to Dumas's strengths stylistically?

7. In what ways is The Three Musketeers a bildungsroman? Would you characterize the work as a youthful novel?

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

6 Literary Antiheroines You Will Love

I love a good anti-heroine: an unreliable, possibly even unlikeable narrator with her own agenda that often goes against ethics and logic…and sometimes, against goodness itself. But antiheroines are hard to find in romances—those roles usually belong to the dudes! Here are six antiheroines you’ll love to hate (and maybe love, too):

Joe Hill vs. Stephen King, and 4 More Father-Son Literary Rivalries

When the nominations for the 2014 Bram Stoker Award for Best Horror Novel were announced last month, it was a very good day for upstart novelist Joe Hill—his second full-length book, NOS4A2, earned a nomination for the year’s top honor. Also on the ballot: Stephen King’s Dr. Sleep, the mega-selling sequel to The Shining. […]

13 Perfect Book & Candy Pairings for Halloween

A good book and a bucket of candy? What could be better? On Halloween, skip the scary movies and just grab a favorite novel of the shelf to pair with some of your treats. (Or your kids’ treats—let’s be honest here.) It’s the best way to make sure you get all the good stuff before […]

How thorough Mr. Raby has been in his recapitulation of Dumas' plot...This is a piece of master carpentry, with special skill in the dovetailing

Toronto Globe & Mail

Peter Raby has adapted the Dumas text into a sprawling, multi-scened extravaganza written mostly in purple ink—the only color for this kind of tale.

Toronto Telegram

Dumas's 1844 swashbuckling chestnut gets overhauled by master translator Pevear and includes Pevear's introduction to Dumas, describing his life and times, and scholarly notes on the text. The story probably has been done to death in numerous, mostly bad, movies, but how many books have a candy bar named after them? Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

10/10/2016
The picaresque adventures of the young d’Artagnan, who strives to become a musketeer in service of the king, unfold in a visually vibrant adaptation of Dumas’s novel. It’s no easy task to condense such a sprawling story into a picture book, and readers may have trouble keeping up with the swerves of the plot. French artist André uses airy, watercolorlike effects to create dramatic visuals suggestive of stills from an animated action film. It’s an ambitious retelling, but most readers will probably benefit from outside research or conversations with adults to better understand the context and stakes of the story. Ages 8–11. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

The name Alexandre Dumas is more than French—it is universal.”—Victor Hugo

From the Publisher

"When Dumas wrote The Three Musketeers in 1844 he upped Shakespeare’s ante. The author’s mold-breaking use of short paragraphs and abundant dialogue provided a template for the modern page-turner. Though Dumas was accused of playing fast and loose with history, he actually brought it thrillingly alive. A rip-snorting new translation of The Three Musketeers by the American Lawrence Ellsworth captures all the excitement and flair of Dumas’s great historical adventure that spawned several sequels and numerous films, TV series and cartoons. Ellsworth does a wonderful job of communicating the energy, humor and warmth of Dumas’s work. Ellsworth’s snappier approach, which included putting back all the racier scenes elided from the Victorian translations, suits Dumas much better. It also helps to put an end to the lie, persistent in the English-speaking world, that Dumas’s brand of popular fiction does not deserve the same attention as more ‘serious’ works."

The Wall Street Journal

"Lawrence Ellsworth provides a vibrant, modern-day English translation of the classic high adventure. Ellsworth’s rendition is addictively readable in this lengthy but fast-paced novel. He masterfully captures Dumas’s distinctive voice and humor. Highly recommended for readers of literary classics who have not yet read or would like to reacquaint themselves with the tale."

Historical Novels Review

"Newly translated, a sequel to The Three Musketeers is as fresh as ever. In Lawrence Ellsworth’s excellent, compulsively readable translation, The Red Sphinx is just the book to see you through the January doldrums. And maybe those of February, too."

Michael Dirda

"The classic French epic in a new translation by Lawrence Ellsworth brings freshness to the story of d'Artagnan and his pals."

The New York Times Book Review

"There is swash and buckle aplenty, and even plumage if that’s what does it for you. And it is great fun."

The Spectator [praise for 'The Red Sphinx']

"A royal treat for fans of historical fiction. I am confident that librarians and English literature teachers around the world are leaping for joy at the publication of The Red Sphinx, and I join them in this excitement."

Bookreporter [praise for 'The Red Sphinx']

"As far as I can tell, Lawrence Ellsworth is responsible for one of the biggest literary projects happening right now in the English language. Ellsworth is working on a massive and daunting scale. He’s translating the entirety of Alexandre Dumas’s stories of The Three Musketeers (1844), all 1.5 million words of it. The third volume, Twenty Years After, appeared late last year. In Ellsworth’s hands, these stories of swashbuckling and all-for-one-and-one-for-all friendship feel new again. The Three Musketeers is an enormously entertaining tale for the ages."

The Brooklyn Rail

"The Red Sphinx is wonderful. There’s plot and counter-plot, duels, passion, murder, romance, disguises, poets and assassins. Readable and compelling."

Historical Novels Review [praise for 'The Red Sphinx']

The Red Sphinx is a vivid and beautifully-crafted story dense with colorful characters and an irresistible charm.”

Christian Science Monitor [praise for 'The Red Sphinx']

12/01/2016
Gr 2–5—Told in first person from d'Artagnan's point of view, this very complex story is compressed into a typical picture book. If children already know the tale of the Musketeers well, then this edition will be fairly easy to follow and will not disappoint. However, considering that even abridged chapter book adaptations usually exceed 300 pages, this one is quite ambitious. For those unacquainted with the original novel, it will take a knowledgeable adult to help sort out the numerous intricate relationships, characters, and events that are packed in tightly with little contextual explanation to ease the transition from one fantastic feat to the next. For example, American children may be unfamiliar with the historical role of a cardinal and, given the lack of context and details, may question why he is cast as nefarious throughout this version but at the end is hosting an event where Rochefort announces to everyone that d'Artagnan is now an official Musketeer. What is not lacking is the characterization of d'Artagnan as an overconfident, rambunctious, I-can-do-anything personality that shines through from the opening page right to the end, when he shouts the well-known "One for all and all for one!" André's illustrations are lush and full page, with an abundance of black and amber tones that convey much of the sinister goings-on, but they are also somewhat romantic in style and punctuated by occasional swaths of color. VERDICT A suitable purchase if one is in need of a brief, fully illustrated run-through of the major events of this classic.—Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID

Newsday [praise for 'The Red Sphinx']

"The test of a translator is his capacity to capture this characteristic interplay of the heroic and the ribald; the sincere and the ironic; the vanished past and the approaching present. And at this task Ellsworth succeeds, giving us a Three Musketeers with more clarity, energy, and simplicity than any previous English edition."

Open Letters Review

Newly translated, a sequel to The Three Musketeers is as fresh as ever. In Lawrence Ellsworth’s excellent, compulsively readable translation, The Red Sphinx is just the book to see you through the January doldrums. And maybe those of February, too.

Michael Dirda - The Washington Post [praise for 'The Red Sphinx']

The Red Sphinx is a vivid and beautifully-crafted story dense with colorful characters and an irresistible charm.”

Tony Cliff

12/01/2016
Gr 2–5—Told in first person from d'Artagnan's point of view, this very complex story is compressed into a typical picture book. If children already know the tale of the Musketeers well, then this edition will be fairly easy to follow and will not disappoint. However, considering that even abridged chapter book adaptations usually exceed 300 pages, this one is quite ambitious. For those unacquainted with the original novel, it will take a knowledgeable adult to help sort out the numerous intricate relationships, characters, and events that are packed in tightly with little contextual explanation to ease the transition from one fantastic feat to the next. For example, American children may be unfamiliar with the historical role of a cardinal and, given the lack of context and details, may question why he is cast as nefarious throughout this version but at the end is hosting an event where Rochefort announces to everyone that d'Artagnan is now an official Musketeer. What is not lacking is the characterization of d'Artagnan as an overconfident, rambunctious, I-can-do-anything personality that shines through from the opening page right to the end, when he shouts the well-known "One for all and all for one!" André's illustrations are lush and full page, with an abundance of black and amber tones that convey much of the sinister goings-on, but they are also somewhat romantic in style and punctuated by occasional swaths of color. VERDICT A suitable purchase if one is in need of a brief, fully illustrated run-through of the major events of this classic.—Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID

School Library Journal

Buckle-your-swash and get ready for a rousing action-adventure, courtesy of Alexandre Dumas and Simon Vance. When hapless d'Artagnan arrives in Paris, his Gascon pride is wounded, and he takes on duels with each of the king's best swordsmen, the three musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Admiring the courage of the green youth, the four become inseparable. The story revolves around the musketeers' attempts to thwart Cardinal Richelieu as he plots the undoing of the King Louis XIII and Queen Anne. Simon Vance's performance is period-perfect. His characterizations are passionate, full-blooded, and memorable. Vance turns historical events into the background for romance and derring-do, sprinkled with healthy doses of irreverence, wit, and irony. Friendship, loyalty, and honor make this all-for-one-and-one-for-all listening. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

FEB/MAR 08 - AudioFile

The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers

Hardcover(Reissue)

Hardcover(Reissue)

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Read an Excerpt

Table of Contents

What People are Saying About This

Reading Group Guide

Customer Reviews

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Read an Excerpt

Table of Contents

What People are Saying About This

Reading Group Guide

Related Subjects

Customer Reviews