Reader discussion: Twenty years after

Public reader discussion about Twenty years after in the WeRead Catalog by Alexandre Dumas.

The Three Musketeers are assholes

By FallenTurtle

I’ve been into the Musketeers since I first watched the 1973 film, but I only just finally picked up the novel. I’d already read The Man in the Iron Mask, so you’d think I’d have been more prepared for this. Even so, since that one gets talked about like it’s the darker story, I still didn’t expect the four of them to be quite this awful here. Basically, they’re total jerks. They keep dueling when they’re not supposed to, then end up brawling with the guards who are trying to arrest them for it, and they hurt and kill people like there’s nothing to it. There’s that bit where Athos gets pushed into giving a guy his real name before a duel, and then just says the man has to die now and kills him anyway. Porthos is mooching off a married woman, Athos became a Musketeer after doing the French version of an honor killing, and all of them are nasty to their servants. Athos even hits his if he talks back, and the others tell Dartagnan to do the same. They bleed people dry, leave chaos wherever they go, and kill way too casually. Still, I can’t help liking them for it. A friend and I used to joke about them in the movie as “Varsity Stars who can get away with anything,” but I thought a lot of that was just because it was a Richard Lester movie, not the book itself. It was pretty entertaining reading about them bullying wine cellars, not even trying to dodge a fight, and only learning that rent exists when their landlord has to tell them. They’re awful, but they’re a blast to read about.

Dumas - The Three Musketeers

By AnnaReads

I snagged this one on eBay for around $30. The Easton Press collector’s edition is really gorgeous though.

57-60. Ten Years Later (The Vicomte of Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de la Vallière, and The Man in the Iron Mask) by Alexandre Dumas. Mostly 4 stars.

By Fish_White

After *Twenty Years After*, I swear the *Three Musketeers* stuff gets a little messy on what order to read. I grabbed the Floating Press version for the third installment and it was split up into four chunks, so I just read them back-to-back and figured I’d share my thoughts. **The Vicomte of Bragelonne** — ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I liked the start, but after that it didn’t grab me the way the earlier ones did. I can see why people say the sequels get more wild, but this one felt kind of stale to me. **Ten Years Later** — ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pretty cool look at court life, and it’s honestly informative. I just missed the adventure parts you get in the other books. Like the whole escape-from-prison vibe and how that stuff was handled, or when D’Artagnan finds Porthos at Belle-Isle. Still, it makes me really curious about where the next books go. **Louise de la Vallière** — ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/4 This felt more like it got its groove back. Way more actually happens, and I’m super hyped for how it all leads into the last one. I liked that Raoul finally finds out what’s been going on, and I’m glad it stops with everyone acting like nobody has eyes and ears. Porthos being confused but still willing to duel for Raoul was great. Also Athos finally snapping at the king, Aramis moving up in his secret thing, D’Artagnan threatening to impale himself on his sword—yeah, a lot goes down and it sets up the next book really well. **The Man in the Iron Mask** — ⭐⭐⭐ Okay, I don’t get this part—how does Athos, who clearly has a strong sense of nobility and justice, not do anything about the whole man in the iron mask situation? He’s helping out King Charles in England and then the “iron mask” thing doesn’t even happen until after the switch fails, so it feels like he should’ve stepped in way sooner. When Raoul left for Africa, I thought Athos would go after the prince and basically take him in like a surrogate son, but nope. Maybe he’s just too worn out and upset, but still… it felt like a miss. Also, Porthos didn’t even know what the scheme was and he still gets crushed by rock—like Samson. That was rough. And yeah, Mouston dying right after Porthos was sad. Aramis as a random diplomat was also kind of weird to me. D’Artagnan dies holding his baton he’s wanted forever, which is kind of brutal as a metaphor for spending your whole life chasing one goal and having it end without even getting to enjoy it. **Side questions:** - If Raoul dies, who ends up getting Porthos’s stuff? - I wanted to see what happened to Montalais and Malicorne. - They say the king isn’t the father, but they never actually say who the dad is… so was it the Duke of Buckingham? Like, is that why the queen always blushed? It also feels like a letdown compared to the first one and *Twenty Years After*. **TLDR:** The movie was better.

More Dumas confusion - Twenty Years After - Prince de Conde - allegiances?

By ivoryHawk

Hey everyone, So I’ve moved on to Twenty Years After now, and I’m kind of confused about where Monsieur Le Prince / the Prince de Condé stands. Mazarin seems to hate him because he thinks he’s backing the Fronde, but then later he shows up leading troops to put down the uprisings and ends up at court in Saint-Germain? So… what’s his deal exactly? Is he actually a Frondist, or just acting like one for a bit? Thanks again, all!

What are some really really old books (over 100 years old) that are good reads?

By muddyCorner65

I’m not totally sure what I’m supposed to think about it—Huckleberry Finn, I guess.