Three Musketeers (Penguin Classics)
by Alexandre Dumas
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alexandre DumasEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); French (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-25
ISBN: 0141442344
Number of pages: 736
Publisher: Penguin Classics/Press
Book Reviews of Three Musketeers (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo and Three Musketeers
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a review of Alexandre Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo and Three Musketeers. Examples are used from the texts to make certain points, so please consider this your spoiler alert. Both of these books are classics and are worth reading for that reason alone. Further, both books are examples of how adventure should be written. However, for a number of reasons, I think Count of Monte Cristo is a great book while Three Musketeers is merely good.
The main point of contrast between these two books is found in their differing approaches to virtue. Though neither book provides much in the way of morality and virtue, as do much of Dickens' works, Count of Monte Cristo seems to presume that there is such a thing as virtue while Three Musketeers does not. While both books have much to do with revenge, Dantès revenge seems righteous because he has clean hands, so to speak. The defining characteristics of Dantès before he was framed and sent to the Châtead d'If were his rising career in the navy and his loving commitment to his fiancée Mercédès. Even as Dantès pursues his revenge there is a sense of virtue as he spares Danglars and comes to the aid of Valentine and Maximilien, ensuring for them a future together in love. These are admirable actions by Dantès, and there are others. Even Mercédès remains a virtuous, though complex and often melancholy, character.
Conversely, d'Artagnan's revenge and actions feel base and vulgar. Whereas Dantès seems motivated by righteous judgment and goodwill to good folks, d'Artagnan seems motivated solely by self-advancement and the chance for cheap sex. I suppose some might argue that d'Artagnan's love for Constance has the flavor of virtue, but his affair with Milady and the fact that Constance is a married woman more than set the relationship of d'Artagnan and Constance apart from that of Dantès and Mercédès or even Dantès and Haydée (who enter into a relationship with a sense of permanence toward the end of Count of Monte Cristo without the baggage of adultery).
Even more disturbing than the lack of virtue in d'Artagnan is the lack of virtue in every other character in Three Musketeers. Milady's seduction of Felton is particularly repulsive as Felton was, up until his foolish aid to Milady, a particularly virtuous fellow. And though d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis all exhibit qualities of commitment to one another, this is not enough to overcome their many personal flaws. d'Artagnan's declared commitment to the Cardinal at the end of the book, which is basically a repudiation of allegiance to the Queen, also leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Aside from the topic of virtue, there is one other thing that sets Count of Monte Cristo apart from Three Musketeers: it is painfully obvious, at times, that in the latter Dumas is being paid by the page. To be sure, Dumas was paid by the page for Count of Monte Cristo, too. However, the literary quality of Monte Cristo is never compromised, in my opinion, while Three Musketeers contains some obvious filler.
If you're only going to read one of these books, I recommend reading Count of Monte Cristo, though Three Musketeers is also a good adventure that will keep your attention. If you read either, be sure to read the unabridged version (the Penguin Classic editions are unabridged).
Summary of Three Musketeers (Penguin Classics)
Young D'Artagnan arrives in Paris to join the King's elite guards, but almost immediately finds he is duelling with some of the very men he has come to swear allegiance to - Porthos, Athos and Aramis, inseparable friends: the Three Musketeers. Soon part of their close band, D'Artagnan's loyalty to his new allies puts him in the deadly path of Cardinal Richlieu's machinations. And when the young hero falls in love with the beautiful but inaccessible Constance, he finds himself in a world of murder, conspiracy and lies, with only the Musketeers to depend on. A stirring nineteenth-century tale of friendship and adventure, "The Three Musketeers" continues to be one of the most influential and popular pieces of French literature. Richard Pevear's introduction investigates the controversy of Dumas' literary collaborators, and how important serialisation was to the book's success. This edition also includes notes on the text.Classics Books
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