17 books
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1. The Corsican Brothers
(1880) Translated by Henry Frith. TO HENRY IRVING, THE LATEST REPRESENTATIVE OF THE TWIN BROTHERS, THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED BY THE TRANSLATOR
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2. Twenty Years After
(1845) The year is now 1648, twenty years since the close of the last story. Louis XIII has died, as has Cardinal Richelieu, and while the crown of France may sit upon the head of Anne of Austria as Regent for the young Louis XIV, the real power resides with the Cardinal Mazarin, her secret husband. D'Artagnan is now a lieutenant of musketeers, and his three friends have retired to private life. Athos turned out to be a nobleman, the Comte de la Fere, and has retired to his home with his son, Raoul de Bragelonne. Aramis, whose real name is D'Herblay, has followed his intention of shedding the musketeer's cassock for the priest's robes, and Porthos has married a wealthy woman, who left him her fortune upon her death. But trouble is stirring in both France and England. Cromwell menaces the institution of royalty itself while marching against Charles I, and at home the Fronde is threatening to tear France apart. D'Artagnan brings his friends out of retirement to save the threatened English monarch, but Mordaunt, the son of Milady, who seeks to avenge his mother's death at the musketeers' hands, thwarts their valiant efforts. Undaunted, our heroes return to France just in time to help save the young Louis XIV, quiet the Fronde, and tweak the nose of Cardinal Mazarin. -- The sequel to The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After is slightly slower but is still an interesting read. It does repeat the success-formula of The Three Musketeers and maybe is less compelling, but the characters show more depth and have now really got older. Our hero d'Artagnan has in the meantime moved on to the rank of Lieutenant of the Musketeers, as in those 20 years the division between the Cardinal's and King's Musketeers has been abolished. However, d'Artagnan has still got ambitions to become Captain of the Musketeers, like Mr de Tr ville, his compatriot. Cardinal Mazarin, a stingy Italian, is now governing France--after the death of cardinal Richelieu--rather than the regent to Louis XIV, his mother queen Anne of Austria who is supposed to have married Mazarin in secret. When Mazarin orders d'Artagnan to go and help Cromwell in his rebellion against Charles I of England, in an attempt to avoid civil war in France, d'Artagnan goes to look for his friends but cannot all persuade them to come with him. They will meet in a very unusual place indeed. In spite of their efforts, King Charles I of England is still killed and our friends will have to return home, in trouble. Nevertheless, the book will end on a positive note again, after an admirable intervention of d'Artagnan. Dumas makes his characters grow in this book and develops the personality they had in The Three Musketeers. All of them have grown older and have moved on in their lives. A good read, nevertheless, certainly because there is another sequel to the sequel: The Vicomte de Bragelonne. --Submitted by kiki1982
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3. The Count of Monte Cristo
(1844-45) This is a dangerously fabulous read. Telling others that this novel is your favourite can reveal a malevolent side to your personality. Genius plot writer, Alexander Dumas, constructed a story so evil, so clever, and so violent that future reads will just be boring. The sum of the book can be understood in three simple words..."Pede poena claudo", or "retribution comes limping." To seek justice for the three men who so selfishly stole 14 years of his life, Edmund Dantes uses deception to emotionally and financially destroy his foes. The Count of Monte Cristo operates very much like the Russian mafia; if a wrongful act is committed, the wrong-doer's entire family and fortune is extinguished before his or her very eyes. When this novel appeared for the first time between 1844 and 1846, it was instantly a huge success. The story speaks to the reader from the first page to the last and, although it consists of about 1600 pages, it never bores. A young ignorant sailor, Edmond Dant s, is sucked into the political games of the time just before the Hundred Days in the year 1815 that would bring back Napoleon. In prison, he discovers the truth and decides to take revenge on them. When he then finally discovers the treasure, he starts to prepare for the revenge he longed for all those years. The revenge is compelling, smart, admirably bad. Ironically the bad guys of 14 years before destroy their own lives because of the same characteristics they used to put Edmond in prison. In this book Dumas deals with very real feelings of people, addressing the treacherous circumstances people had to live in in France at the time of the revolution, but asks a very fundamental question as to justness. The book, ends on a high spiritual note.--Submitted by kiki1982 The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean, and in the Levant during the historical events of 1815–1838. It begins from just before the Hundred Days period (when Napoleon returned to power after his exile) to the reign of Louis-Philippe of France. The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. An adventure story primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy and forgiveness, it focuses on a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune and sets about getting revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment. However, his plans have devastating consequences for the innocent as well as the guilty.--Submitted by Anonymous
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4. Celebrated Crimes
Written between 1839 and 1841, this collection includes famous criminals and the crimes they committed.
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5. The Prussian Terror
"L'ennemi, c'est le Prussien"--GAMBETTA.
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6. Captain Paul
Le Capitaine Paul (1838) Dumas' first serial novel.
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7. The Three Musketeers
First serialised between March and July of 1844. The year is 1625. Young D'Artagnan arrives in Paris at the tender age of 18, and almost immediately offends three musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos. Instead of dueling, the four are attacked by five of the Cardinal's guards, and the courage of the youth is made apparent during the battle. The four become fast friends, and, when asked by D'Artagnan's landlord to find his missing wife, embark upon an adventure that takes them across both France and England in order to thwart the plans of the Cardinal Richelieu. Along the way, they encounter a beautiful young spy, named simply Milady, who will stop at nothing to disgrace Queen Anne of Austria before her husband, Louis XIII, and take her revenge upon the four friends. -- The most famous of Dumas' books and the most colourful In the year 1625, a young man called d'Artagnan is sent from Gascony to Paris by his father to make name as a musketeer and to tread in the footprints is Mr de Tr ville, who also went to Paris as a young man from Gascony and is now Captain of the King's Musketeers. With great ambitions d'Artagnan sets off, but being a young 18-year-old, he is too rash and gets into loads of trouble. He meets his new friends, the legendary noble Athos, devoted Porthos and cunning Aramis. Saddled with useless King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu is forced to govern the country himself, but Milady, queen Anne of Austria (wife of King Louis XIII) and her lover Georges de Villiers of Buckingham, ambassador to King Charles I of England, are not prepared to leave him an easy ride and civil war between Catholics and Protestants is looming. The characters in this book are so life-like and the dialogues so real that you can hear them when you read them and laugh out loud with the comedy elements in them. Some scenes are so compelling that you can't stop reading until the story finishes and you are glad to start on the sequel Twenty Years After. --Submitted by kiki1982 ~
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8. The Vicomte de Bragelonne
The Vicomte de Bragelonne is the final volume of D'Artagnan Romances. When Dumas wrote the novel publishers considered it too long and so they divided it into 3 sections. Some years later a different publisher divided it into 4 sections. Depending on which version you work off some of the books may start at different points. Our website is going to use the 4 book edition, which is outlined below: The Vicomte de Bragelonne First 75 chapters of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances. Covers the year 1660. Ten Years Later Chapters 76-140 of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances. Covers the years 1660-1661. Louise de la Valliere Chapters 141-208 of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances. Covers the year 1661. The Man in the Iron Mask Chapters 209-269 of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances. Covers the year 1660. Below you can find a synopsis of the The Vicomte de Bragelonne: It is the year 1660, and D'Artagnan, after thirty-five years of loyal service, has become disgusted with serving King Louis XIV while the real power resides with the Cardinal Mazarin, and has tendered his resignation. He embarks on his own project, that of restoring Charles II to the throne of England, and, with the help of Athos, succeeds, earning himself quite a fortune in the process. D'Artagnan returns to Paris to live the life of a rich citizen, and Athos, after negotiating the marriage of Philip, the king's brother, to Princess Henrietta of England, likewise retires to his own estate, La Fere. Meanwhile, Mazarin has finally died, and left Louis to assume the reigns of power, with the assistance of M. Colbert, formerly Mazarin's trusted clerk. Colbert has an intense hatred for M. Fouquet, the king's superintendent of finances, and has resolved to use any means necessary to bring about his fall. With the new rank of intendant bestowed on him by Louis, Colbert succeeds in having two of Fouquet's loyal friends tried and executed. He then brings to the king's attention that Fouquet is fortifying the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer, and could possibly be planning to use it as a base for some military operation against the king. Louis calls D'Artagnan out of retirement and sends him to investigate the island, promising him a tremendous salary and his long-promised promotion to captain of the musketeers upon his return. At Belle-Isle, D'Artagnan discovers that the engineer of the fortifications is, in fact, Porthos, now the Baron du Vallon, and that's not all. The blueprints for the island, although in Porthos's handwriting, show evidence of another script that has been erased, that of Aramis. D'Artagnan later discovers that Aramis has become the bishop of Vannes, which is, coincidentally, a parish belonging to M. Fouquet. Suspecting that D'Artagnan has arrived on the king's behalf to investigate, Aramis tricks D'Artagnan into wandering around Vannes in search of Porthos, and sends Porthos on an heroic ride back to Paris to warn Fouquet of the danger. Fouquet rushes to the king, and gives him Belle-Isle as a present, thus allaying any suspicion, and at the same time humiliating Colbert, just minutes before the usher announces someone else seeking an audience with the king. ~ Being the sequel to the sequel of The Three Musketeers, Dumas goes on with his theme of political games with our heroes in the middle. Here, it is the first seven years of powerful Louis XIVs rule which are the background for the story of Bragelonne and our four heros. DArtagnan has become older and Athos, Porthos and Aramis have moved on and (sometimes) up. Louis XIV has become king having gained the age of majority, but he is still ruled by Mazarin who is not convinced that the king is ready to be king. When Mazarin finally passes on, Louis sees his chance to become the king he wants to be: powerful and omnipotent However, financial superintendant Fouquet and his subordinate (or is he?) the bishop of Vannes Mr dHerblay a.k.a. Aramis, are not really fond of the idea. On the other hand financial vice-superintendant Mr Colbert sees great possibilities for himself if Fouquet would only be history. To add to the torment of Louis XIV there is Louise de la Vallire who seems to be betrothed to Athoss son Vicomte Raoul de Bragelonne, but who does not seem keener on that than Louis himself; dArtagnan, the voice of honesty, takes leave of his service several times out of frustration; coquettish Madame (the new wife of Monsieur Philippe, brother of Louis) is torn between Louis and Mr le Comte de Guiche, best friend of Bragelonne. Then the governor of the Bastille state-prison Mr de Baisemeaux cant keep his mouth shut and provides Aramis with vital information that could make him a powerful man indeed. When Porthos gets sucked into the games of Aramis and Fouquet, because of his naivety, and things come to a high on the island of Belle-le after the famous plot against the king, dArtagnan must choose between his duty and his ambition to become Marshal of France on the one side, and his duty to his friends on the other. At this crucial moment he finally sees himself mastered and, to his own amazement, now values his master more than he thought he would ever. At the same time a lot of sad things will happen at this point in the story, because lets face it, our heroes have all become old and they are slowly going to the end of their road on this earth. For a last time dArtagnan makes his trip to see them, like he did for the first time in The Three Musketeers 30 to 40 years before, but now with another purpose. Only Aramis he will not have to go and see, but he will turn up very unexpectedly later Much later The Vicomte de Bragelonne is a very nice, fitting, passionate and at the same time very placid end to the story of our four (or is it three?) musketeers. The last book of the trilogy provides the reader with a look on how times changed when a powerful king took over and what that king had to do to finally gain respect and authority from and over people who werent used to that under his predecessors. It sheds a light on diplomacy and honour in a world that is no longer with us, but that was made immortal by authors like Dumas. As president of France Mr Chirac said: with Alexandre Dumas, we were indeed dArtagnan riding on the roads of France, fighting on the battlefields and visiting palaces and fortresses alike. With him we dream and generations to come will do the same. The only thing left now of the trilogy is the thought of dArtagnan and his friends which will always stay with us as an image of ideal friendship Or, of course, start to read over to try quench the thirst for a sequel to the sequel of the sequel of The Three Musketeers!--Submitted by kiki1982 ~
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9. The Black Tulip
La Tulipe Noire (1850) A deceptively simple story and the shortest of Dumas's most famous novels, The Black Tulip weaves historical events surrounding a brutal murder into a tale of romantic love. Set in Holland in 1672, this timeless political allegory draws on the violence and crimes of history, making a case against tyranny and creating a symbol of justice and tolerance: the fateful tulipa negra. The 20th of August 1672 is an important date in Dutch history: the brothers De Witt are brutally lynched by the crowd, allegedly for high treason where they were only trying to negotiate a peace treaty with France to protect their little country. However, their deaths meant that William of Orange (later also King of Great-Britain) could become king. With this backdrop, Dumas creates a story, not about the brothers, but about one of their godchildren: Cornelius Van Baerle, who is saddled with a jealous neighbour Isaac Boxtel. Why is he jealous? He is envious because Cornelius is having some success in discovering The Black Tulip which is awarded a prize of 100,000 florins, and thought impossible. Just at the point where the black tulip is well on its way to coming into existence, Van Baerle is compromised and thrown into prison where he is sentenced to death. Somehow, though, God has mercy and he is granted a perpetual prison sentence instead. As the story continues, a love affair emerges between the jailer's daughter and Van Baerle who gave her his three bulbs in his testament. The black tulip is not only a symbol for justice and tolerance, but also a symbol for the most perfect and divine love of two people. It can be prosecuted, attempted to be destroyed, killed, trodden on, but it will never give up, and eventually it blooms despite all those obstacles. A wonderful, gentle, tender and placid love story without huge declarations, but none-the-less powerful. A great novella.--Submitted by kiki1982 ~
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10. The Sicilian Bandit
From the Volume Captain Paul First published in 1838, translated from the French in 1850 by Henry Llewellyn Williams.
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11. Ali Pacha
From Dumas's Celebrated Crimes, compiled between 1839 and 1841.
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12. The Forty-Five Guardsmen
(1893) A sequel to Chicot the Jester.
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13. Louise de la Valliere
Published between 1847 and 1850, this is the third part of The Vicomte de Bragelonne Believing D'Artagnan occupied at Fontainebleau and Porthos safely tucked away at Paris, Aramis holds a funeral for the dead Franciscan - but in fact, Aramis is wrong in both suppositions. D'Artagnan has left Fontainebleau, bored to tears by the fetes, retrieved Porthos, and is visiting the country-house of Planchet, his old lackey. This house happens to be right next door to the graveyard, and upon observing Aramis at this funeral, and his subsequent meeting with a mysterious hooded lady, D'Artagnan, suspicions aroused, resolves to make a little trouble for the bishop. He presents Porthos to the king at the same time as Fouquet presents Aramis, thereby surprising the wily prelate. Aramis's professions of affection and innocence do only a little to allay D'Artagnan's concerns, and he continues to regard Aramis's actions with a curious and wary eye. Meanwhile, much to his delight, Porthos is invited to dine with the king as a result of his presentation, and with D'Artagnan's guidance, manages to behave in such a manner as to procure the king's marked favor. The mysterious woman turns out to be the Duchesse de Chevreuse, a notorious schemer and former friend of Anne of Austria. She comes bearing more bad news for Fouquet, who is already in trouble, as the king has invited himself to a fetes at Vaux, Fouquet's magnificent mansion, that will surely bankrupt the poor superintendent. The Duchesse has letters from Mazarin that prove that Fouquet has received thirteen million francs from the royal coffers, and she wishes to sell these letters to Aramis. Aramis refuses, and the letters are instead sold to Colbert. Fouquet, meanwhile, discovers that the receipt that proves his innocence in the affair has been stolen from him. Even worse, Fouquet, desperate for money, is forced to sell the parliamentary position that renders him untouchable by any court proceedings. As part of her deal with Colbert, though, Chevreuse also obtains a secret audience with the queen- mother, where the two discuss a shocking secret - Louis XIV has a twin brother, long believed, however, to be dead. Meanwhile, in other quarters, De Wardes, Raoul's inveterate enemy, has returned from Calais, barely recovered from his wounds, and no sooner does he return than he begins again to insult people, particularly La Valliere, and this time the comte de Guiche is the one to challenge him. The duel leaves De Guiche horribly wounded, but enables Madame to use her influence to destroy De Wardes's standing at court. The fetes, however, come to an end, and the court returns to Paris. The king has been more than obvious about his affections for Louise, and Madame, the queen-mother, and the queen join forces to destroy her. She is dishonorably discharged from court, and in despair, she flees to the convent at Chaillot. Along the way, though, she runs into D'Artagnan, who manages to get word back to the king of what has taken place. By literally begging Madame in tears, Louis manages to secure Louise's return to court - but Madame still places every obstacle possible before the lovers. They have to resort to building a secret staircase and meeting in the apartments of M. de Saint-Aignan, where Louis has a painter create a portrait of Louise. But Madame recalls Raoul from London and shows him these proofs of Louise's infidelity. Raoul, crushed, challenges Saint-Aignan to a duel, which the king prevents, and Athos, furious, breaks his sword before the king. The king has D'Artagnan arrest Athos, and at the Bastile they encounter Aramis, who is paying Baisemeaux another visit. Raoul learns of Athos's arrest, and with Porthos in tow, they effect a daring rescue, surprising the carriage containing D'Artagnan and Athos as they leave the Bastile. Although quite impressive, the intrepid raid is in vain, as D'Artagnan has already secured Athos's pardon from the king. Instead, everybody switches modes of transport; D'Artagnan and Porthos take the horses back to Paris, and Athos and Raoul take the carriage back to La Fere, where they intend to reside permanently, as the king is now their sworn enemy, Raoul cannot bear to see Louise, and they have no more dealings in Paris. Aramis, left alone with Baisemeaux, inquires the governor of the prison about his loyalties, in particular to the Jesuits. The bishop reveals that he is a confessor of the society, and invokes their regulations in order to obtain access to this mysterious prisoner who bears such a striking resemblance to Louis XIV...
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14. Chicot the Jester
(1846) [An abridged translation of La dame de Monsoreau] In the court of King Henri III Valois, ever swarming with rebellion and intrigue, the reckless and honourable Comte de Bussy, one of the nobles of the King's brother le Duc d'Anjou, incurs the wrath of the King's minions. To escape the trap they set for him, he bursts into the house that happens to be behind him, the door of which is miraculously open. Wounded, he faints, and does not know that a doctor is secretly summoned to treat him. When he recovers, he finds himself far away from this house, yet he remembers, as in a dream, the face of a woman lovelier than any he'd ever seen. Convinced that the face is real, he sets out to find the house. He meets the doctor, who is also intrigued by the secrecy, and together they find the correct door. Thus, Bussy accidentally finds out the drama that goes on within the house, and the touching and hopeless story of Diana, la Dame de Monsoreau. Guided by his overpowering love, he offers her his protection against the malicious and wild jealousy of her husband, against the lust of the traitorous Duc d'Anjou, and against the coldness of rest of the world. The love of Bussy and Diana flourishes against the background of the civil unrest in France. Their story, the story of the King and his only friend the Jester Chicot, mingle and intertwine with the other stories of love, friendship, hate, and treachery, which bring the book to the dramatic and irrevocable climax.--Submitted by EugenieIsabelle
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15. The Man in the Iron Mask
(1847) Alexandre Dumas was already a best-selling novelist when he wrote this historical romance, combining (as he claimed) the two essentials of life--"l'action et l'amour." The Man in the Iron Mask climactically concludes the epic adventures of the three Musketeers: here, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and their friend D'Artagnan, once invincible, meet their destinies.
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16. The Companions of Jehu
(1858)
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17. Ten Years Later
In the second part of The Vicomte de Bragelonne 1661 approaches, Princess Henrietta of England arrives for her marriage, and throws the court of France into complete disorder. The jealousy of the Duke of Buckingham, who is in love with her, nearly occasions a war on the streets of Le Havre, thankfully prevented by Raoul's timely and tactful intervention. After the marriage, though, Monsieur Philip becomes horribly jealous of Buckingham, and has him exiled. Before leaving, however, the duke fights a duel with M. de Wardes at Calais. De Wardes is a malicious and spiteful man, the sworn enemy of D'Artagnan, and, by the same token, that of Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and Raoul as well. Both men are seriously wounded, and the duke is taken back to England to recover. Raoul's friend, the Comte de Guiche, is the next to succumb to Henrietta's charms, and Monsieur obtains his exile as well, though De Guiche soon effects a reconciliation. But then the king's eye falls on Madame Henrietta during the comte's absence, and this time Monsieur's jealousy has no recourse. Anne of Austria intervenes, and the king and his sister- in-law decide to pick a young lady with whom the king can pretend to be in love, the better to mask their own affair. They unfortunately select Louise de la Valliere, Raoul's fiancee. While the court is in residence at Fontainebleau, the king unwitting overhears Louise confessing her love for him while chatting with her friends beneath the royal oak, and the king promptly forgets his affection for Madame. That same night, Henrietta overhears, at the same oak, De Guiche confessing his love for her to Raoul. The two embark on their own affair. A few days later, during a rainstorm, Louis and Louise are trapped alone together, and the whole court begins to talk of the scandal while their love affair blossoms. Aware of Louise's attachment, the king arranges for Raoul to be sent to England for an indefinite period. Meanwhile, the struggle for power continues between Fouquet and Colbert. Although the Belle-Isle plot backfired, Colbert prompts the king to ask Fouquet for more and more money, and without his two friends to raise it for him, Fouquet is sorely pressed. The situation gets so bad that his new mistress, Madame de Belliere, must resort to selling all her jewels and her gold and silver plate. Aramis, while this is going on, has grown friendly with the governor of the Bastile, M. de Baisemeaux, a fact that Baisemeaux unwittingly reveals to D'Artagnan while inquiring of him as to Aramis's whereabouts. This further arouses the suspicions of the musketeer, who was made to look ridiculous by Aramis. He had ridden overnight at an insane pace, but arrived a few minutes after Fouquet had already presented Belle-Isle to the king. Aramis learns from the governor the location of a mysterious prisoner, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Louis XIV - in fact, the two are identical. He uses the existence of this secret to persuade a dying Franciscan monk, the general of the society of the Jesuits, to name him, Aramis, the new general of the order. On Aramis's advice, hoping to use Louise's influence with the king to counteract Colbert's influence, Fouquet also writes a love letter to La Valliere, unfortunately undated. It never reaches its destination, however, as the servant ordered to deliver it turns out to be an agent of Colbert's. Porthos, in the meantime, has been recovering from his midnight ride from Belle-Isle at Fouquet's residence at Saint-Mande. Athos has retired, once again to La Fere. D'Artagnan, little amused by the court's activities at Fontainebleau, and finding himself with nothing to do, has returned to Paris, and we find him again in Planchet's grocery shop.