The Vicomte De Bragelonne (Oxford World's Classics)

Rating:
Summary: A cumbersome but worthwhile finale
Review: After writing The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years after, Dumas wrote a third installment to the trilogy. It is probably the most controvercial book in the trilogy, as can be revealed by reading many of the reviews. For starters, it's LONG: over 200 chapters. As a result, the English-speaking world has split it into three books: The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valiere and The Man in the Iron Mask (the most famous volume). The length is certainly a problem, in fact is it THE major flaw in the conclusion of the trilogy. Dumas is never terse or concise, but in this three-part book, he produces an monolith. This was largely due to him overcomitting himself and having to write this much for financial reasons. However, while this is a major setback, the three books still have elements of great, almost sublime Dumas left in them, which can be extracted if approached in the right way.

The final installment of the trilogy represents the dear old Athos, d'Artagnan, Porthos and Aramis maturing and growing old. The trilogy thus moves from more active and straightforward swashbuckling to a more complex and sombre picture. Like the previous book Twenty Years After, it is not completely clear as to who's in the right and who isn't, only this time it is more so. Like the previous book, age has placed the former Musketeers in a somewhat divided situation, this time involving many a clandestine dealing of state and international level. Finally, in this three-part saga, we are introduced to a huge number of characters while our Four at times take a back seat for several hundred pages. This has been criticised as well, but has a point.

In terms of this specific volume (The Vicomte de Bragelonne), it is the most historical one, as initially d'Artagnan and Athos are brought out of retirement, united in their royalist causes. After completing an adventure reminiscent of their former, more "action-packed" years, the intrigue of the newly-ascended Louis XIV begins. It is here that we can see Dumas as painting a brilliantly detailed picture of what he sees as France moving towards a more centralised, efficient yet pedestrian autocracy from Richeleu to Mazarin to Louis XIV. For the first time, d'Artagnan finds himself serving (and appreciated by) the king, however, the novel asks the question of whether this is at all a good thing. In the power-struggles of the court, we see the irony that the "detractors" of progress are often more honourable than its supporters.

If you only expect more action involving the Four, then don't bother reading this at all. However, if you persevere, you will get to see sublime glimpses of what a long way the Musketeers of old have come (for better or worse), what they think about the entire society they live in and what Dumas thinks. As well as some of the old-fashioned-style adventure. I think that the fact that this is obscured by an overly-drawn-out style, while annoying, does not detract from this being an honourable conclusion to the trilogy.

Rating:
Summary: Musketeers 3. Part 1 of 3Part Story. Part 1 of 3Part Review.
Review: Before I begin reviewing this book I'd like to comment on it's place in the total D'Artagnan Romances. The D'Artagnan romances are a trilogy started with the Three Musketeers, followed by Twenty Years After. The last of these stories is broken up into three volumes which are The Vicomte De Bragelonne (part 1), Louise de la Valliere (part 2), The Man in the Iron Mask (part 3). If you are like me and reading library copies you may even find The Vicomte De Bragelonne broken up into four volumes either all titled The Vicomte De Bragelonne, or titled the same as the three volumes with Ten Years Later added as the first volume of the story. With that being said, on to the review...

This story take place around ten years after the events of Twenty Years After. We find Luis XIV now king, but hardly so sense Mazarin holds all the power. D'Artagnan is still a Musketeer, but is losing faith as what he had earned in the previous book has been taken away from him. Seeing that his friends have prospered out side of the Kings service, while he has made no progress, and being dissapointed with the useless king who allows himself to be overshadowed by Mazarin, he leaves the king's service with a bold plan to make his fortune. This leads to a reunion with an old friend, and one of the best of a series of adventures that takes place in this, the last of the Musketeer series.

This volume brings back the great four musketeers, all of whom have gone their seperate ways. This volume is dominated by the charaters of D'Artagnan and Athos. A fine begining to a wonderful but long story.

Review continued with Louise de la Valliere...

Rating:
Summary: The D'Artagnan series low down
Review: First of all, the most common way to get the whole series is with 5 separate and distinct books. They are (in order): The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte De Bragelonne, Louise De LA Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask.

I don't think I need to tell people about the story, but I will. The action and dialogue in the Dumas' stories rivals anything written since. Especially the dialogue. If Dumas were alive today he'd be writing for TV and movies, his dialogue is as fast and witty as anything around.

There are many different printed versions of these stories around. If you pick and choose at random from different publishers, you may miss parts of the stories, have overlaps, or run into major editing. Just look at the versions of the 'Man in the Iron Mask' and see the different page count. At my local library I found two books that said 'Complete and Unabridged,' only one had 10 less chapters than the other.

So, sticking to one publisher increases your chances of getting the whole story. These Oxford World Classic editions are excellent. They do have all five books. They don't cut anything out. They use one of the standard translations (I'm not sure if there has been a new translation in the last 100 years). And they are newly printed. Some publishers versions look like photocopies of old printings and are pathetic.

Rating:
Summary: The D'Artagnan series low down
Review: I have a copy of this book dated 1910, it was my mother-in-law's. One day I picked it up on a whim, and was instantly pulled into Dumas' narrative. This is a very well-written and entertaining story set in the period during the very beginning of the reign of Louis XIV.
Dumas has a way of transporting you back in time. His writing is effortless, and flows smoothly from one chapter to the next. He is a great storyteller, and the dialog is superb.
What fascinated me the most about this story was the historical portaits. I always wondered about the period in English history after Cromwell and before Charles II. Dumas describes the situation and gives fascinating descriptions of the personalities of Lambert and Monk, the 2 English generals struggling for power after the fall of Cromwell's son.
There are also very interesting descriptions of Charles II (Stuart), Louis XIV, and Cardinal Mazarin, along with a description of the political situation in France at the time (1660).
I checked my 1910 translation with the sample pages of this book and discovered it to be almost identical, the only differences being the substitution of some of the French words left in my translation, to English.
I found the Vicomte de Bragelonne to be refreshing, entertaining and even a little educational.

Rating:
Summary: Long live the musketeers!
Review: I only discovered this third volume of the 'The Three Musketeers' saga a year ago, which I consumed within a few days of getting my hands on it.
In this volume, Dumas shows how the inexperienced king, Louis XIV, grabs his rightful power following the death of Cardinal Mazarin. He also introduces the two contesters for Mazarin's vacated seat: Colbert and Fouquet. Dumas' grab of high adventure is still well focused with Athos' and d'Artagnan's separate jaunts to England, which results in d'Artagnan finally becoming a man of independent means.
What I found disturbing was the dumbing down of Porthos and the menacing slyness of Aramis. But, apart from this, I found the entire book an absolute gem and Dumas at his best.

Rating:
Summary: Focus of the Story Changes
Review: If you are reading this review, you have probably already read the Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After. You are wondering if it is worth it to continue with the series. If you decide to go on, you have three more 600+ page novels ahead of you. That is a lot of time and energy.

If you are foremost into the swashbuckling aspect of the Musketeer stories, I would not go forward. The Musketeers are now in their late 50's. They are still vital characters but they are no longer young men looking for any excuse to duel with the Cardinal's Guard. From this point on, there is a lot less sword play and campaigning. The focus of the story moves to the intrigues of Louis XIV court.

I am continuing with the series because I like the characters. I want to find out what happens to the four friends. In this novel, D'Artagnan and Athos are the principal characters. Aramis and Porthos do not show up for the first few hundred pages. Dumas has kept me entertained for the first two thousand pages of this saga and I am counting on him to keep me entertained for the next 1500 pages.




Rating:
Summary: Another great performance from Dumas and his Musketeers
Review: The Vicomte De Bragelonne is another masterpiece by Dumas. Although not as captivating as the first two books in his series (The Three Musketerrs and Twenty Years After), VDB certainly has its moments. VDB is followed by Louise de la Valliere and finally the series ends with the story of the Man in the Iron Mask. This book starts of rather slowly compared to the others and certainly is not as captivating albeit it is a good read. The ending is a little weak too. The middle is simply a page turner. Adventure after adventure. This book sets up the plot for the last two in the series (all three were really one book entitled Ten Years Later). The Musketeers (d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis) could not be more different in this book. They are taking diffent sides of the governmental rift as Louis XIV finally makes his rise to power. I recommend this book. END

Rating:
Summary: A work of art, of course!
Review: This book, like all of Dumas' other works, is excellent and should be read by all. It's not as action packed, I admit, as the other Musketeer books, however, I find it equally captivating. I think the interaction of the four friends(d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis),and how they deal and act with one another at this point in their lives is very interesting. If you get this book, you better make sure you have close on hand the next two(Louise de Valliere and The Man in the Iron Mask)because it ends abbrutly, leading you in to the next book. But it's definately a must have.

Rating:
Summary: The LONGEST Installment And Conclusion To An Excellent Saga
Review: This novel is the last part of "The Three Musketeers" trilogy, begun in 1844, when Dumas was in the middle of writing "The Count Of Monte Cristo" (another success) and half a dozen other long novels. Brief synopsis: Ten years have passed since the musketeers fought the son of Milday. Raoul De Bragelonne, the son of Athos, is passionately in love with Louise De La Valliere, one of the Duchesse D'Orleans' women, Louis XIV is in love and intent on making himself absolute master of France, Mazarin plots, Athos is writing his memoirs, D'Artagnan is on a mission which takes him from Holland to the dunes of Brittany and Aramis, always scheming, has a mysterious plan involving a masked prisoner, with Porthos in tow. I consider it one huge installment (as it was originally written), so I'm not going to review "Louise De La Valliere" or "The Man In The Iron Mask." Dumas wrote it that way and that's how I see it. This last novel consists of 268 chapters, making for a long and intriguing read. It's the darkest installment and it's doubtless this as much as its length which explains why readers prefer the first two parts of this heroic saga. The middle section, "Louise De La Valliere" (here in the U.S. and elsewhere; in France, it's only known as "Le Vicomte De Bragelonne") is where the action-of which there is no scarcity-dies down for a good while and focuses more on the amours and intrigues of the court. "The Man In The Iron Mask", the most famous part of the trilogy, while "Le Vicomte De Braggelonne" and "Louise De La Valliere" are disregarded, picks up where the middle section leaves off and the action reaches a feverish pitch as the saga plunges headlong to its shocking conclusion. Makes for a crackling good read. As someone whose knowledge of Dumas begins with his birth in 1802 and ends with his death in 1870, I have to say that the saga never runs short on swashbuckling action, heart-stopping suspense, forbidden and intriguing romance and impossible obstacles.

"The Three Musketeers" introduced us to Athos, Porthos and Aramis, brave men in the service of the king of France, also known as "The Three Inseperables." D'Artagnan is a young man from Tarbes, Gascony, who seeks to join them. Together, they overcome seemingly impossible odds to save the throne of France. It's, of course, the most famous...and with good reason. "Twenty Years After" continues the adventures of these four brave men two decades later as they answer the call of duty and fight their way to thwart the villains and save the day yet again. A masterful and most worthy sequel. The Musketeers saga reaches its exciting conclusion in "The Vicomte De Bragelonne." The longest, but the most entertaining adventure of them all. Read these classic novels for yourselves, but if you're reading them for the first time, read them in order. Otherwise, you won't have a clue as to what the hell's going on. Rated PG for violence.