The Three Musketeers

While I have been ripping through books lately, especially several of Tamora Pierce's YA series, I have failed to blog in some time. Perhaps it's a lack of audience that limits my motivation, but my laziness is much more likely. However, I know if I don't write about it, I won't remember it. Seriously, I retain nothing. So of the thirteen books I've read since Girl on the Train, I picked the book that I thought I would most care about remembering in the future. 

Title: The Three Musketeers

Author: Alexander Dumas

Year: Serially published March-July 1844

Genre: Classic Fiction

Setting: France and England

Characters: D'Artagnan (young soldier from Gascony, main character), Athos (the noble musketeer), Porthos (the lush musketeer), Aramis (the religious musketeer),  Monsier de Treville (captain of the musketeers), Cardinal Richelieu (conniving diplomat), King Louis XIII (King of France), Anne of Austria (Queen of France), Constance Bonacieux (D'Artagnan's love), Lady de Winter (bad, bad lady), Duke of Buckingham (Queen Anne's lover and second in power in England)

Plot: D'Artagnan arrives in Paris from Gascony to become a musketeer. He establishes himself quickly as a swordsman and friend to Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, all three of whom he was scheduled to duel in one afternoon. The musketeers represent the King and are archly opposed to the Cardinal's guards, reflecting the political and religious tension about the level of power the cardinal wields in France. When D'Artagnan is asked by his landlord to find his missing wife, Constance Bonacieux, the four men become embroiled in the Cardinal's plots against the Duke of Buckingham and Queen Anne. The plot twists again and again as Lady de Winter, a spy for the Cardinal an all-around awful human who has past connections to Athos, attempts to assassinate the Duke of Buckingham and punish any who get in her way, especially D'Artagnan. 

Verdict: If you want to brush up on some canonical classic literature, add this book to the top of your list. It's a relatively quick read for its length (my copy was over 600 pages), and the characters are developed in time with the adventure-steeped plot. It's easy to imagine the scenes and the chaos that ensues any time the musketeers are around, even without images from movies fighting to interfere.  Unsurprisingly, its representations of love are pretty shallow and one-dimensional, although love motivates much of the plot. All in all, it's a pretty great read. 8/10