Название: The Three Musketeers
Автор: Alexandre Dumas
Издательство: LibriVox
Эту книгу озвучил: LibriVox Volunteers
Год выпуска: 2008
Жанр: Action & Adventure Fiction, Romance
Аудио кодек: mp3
Битрейт аудио: 128 kbps
Продолжительность: 24:49:46
Качество: Отличное
Размер: 1330 Мб
Язык: Английский

The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, pere. It recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to become a musketeer.

D'Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis -- inseparable friends who live by the motto, "One for all, and all for one".

The Three Musketeers was first published in serial form in the magazine Le Siecle between March and July 1844. Dumas claimed it was based on manuscripts he had discovered in the Bibliotheque Nationale. It was later proven that Dumas had based his work on the book Memoires de Monsieur D'Artagnan, capitaine lieutenant de la premiere compagnie des Mousquetaires du Roi (Memoirs of Mister D'Artagnan, Lieutenant Captain of the first company of the King's Musketeers) by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras (Cologne, 1700).

Dumas' version of the story covers the adventures of D'Artagnan and his friends from 1625 to 1628, as they are involved in intrigues involving the weak King Louis XIII of France, his powerful and cunning advisor Cardinal Richelieu, the beautiful Queen Anne of Austria, her English lover, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and the Siege of La Rochelle. Adding to the intrigue are the mysterious Milady de Winter, and Richelieu's right-hand man, the Comte de Rochefort.

The Three Musketeers follows the adventures of the young Gascon nobleman, D’Artagnan and his three trusted friends who served as musketeers in the king’s regiment – Athos, Porthos & Aramis. Written by Alexandre Dumas, the book was a bestseller during the time of its publication and it remains so even today. It follows the timeless theme of friendship and bravery.

The main protagonist of the story is D’Artagnan who travels to Paris to realize his dreams of becoming one of the musketeers for the king. But things start to fall apart from the very beginning when his cherished letter of introduction is stolen by a mysterious gentleman. D’Artagnon reaches Paris and becomes friends with the ‘The Three Musketeers’ and seems to settle down comfortably in accordance with the scheme of life that was prevalent in the 17th century Paris.

However, as expected, the peace did not last long as D’Artagnan and his friends get embroiled in an intriguing web of conspiracy in the fight for power among the people of the upper echelons. The matter gets further complicated by the introduction of a mysterious woman who is very beautiful but is more than what she projects herself to be. The author employs well-crafted narrative skills to give this enthralling novel a dramatic yet gripping conclusion. But do the heroes of the story manage to escape the agents of the Cardinals? Can they protect the honour of the queen? You will soon find out as this adventurous tale will keep you hooked till you finish.

The book is written from the perspective of D’Artagnan. It is a real classic and is perfect for light reading. The style of narration followed by Dumas is very light and leaves no space for any kind of philosophical subtext. No wonder, The Three Musketeers is one of the most popular historical romances.