The Vicomte de Bragelonne

by Alexandre Dumas

Other authorsDavid Coward (Editor)

Paperback, 1995

Status

Available

Call number

843.7

Publication

Oxford University Press, USA (1995), Paperback, 768 pages

Description

Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML: The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later is the final book in Dumas' d'Artagnon Romances trilogy. The book is in four parts, of which this is the second. According to French academic Jean-Yves Tadie, the real subject of the book is the beginning of King Louis XIV's rule..

User reviews

LibraryThing member leslie.98

I was a bit surprised to have the book end as I still had several CDs of the audiobook to go! This discrepancy is annoying but understandable as both the book and the audiobook are just the first part of the book Dumas originally wrote as the final novel of the d'Artagnan trilogy called The Vicomte

de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later. This last book was so enormous (over 1000 pages) that it is almost always divided into 3, 4 or even 5 separate volumes. I am reading the Project Gutenberg Kindle editions which are using the 4 volume division (although there was a nice little note showing where the book would have ended in a 5 volume split!). I thought that the audiobook I was listening to was also from a 4 volume split but perhaps it was from a 3 volume split instead.

I found sections of this volume very interesting and/or exciting (such as the parts about General Monk) but some of it was rather too long-winded (even for me!). Despite the title, the main character of this is our friend d'Artagnan. Porthos and Aramis don't appear until quite close to the end (Chapter 70 or so), which was a bit disappointing. Athos was present for much of the story although he and d'Artagnan were working at cross purposes for a while. As in the previous book, [Twenty Years After], the four friends are not in close contact as the book opens & sadly are once again split in their loyalties, although this time it is d'Artagnan and Athos on the side of Charles II & Louis XIV versus Porthos and Aramis on the side of Fouquet. In Twenty Years After, d'Artagnan and Porthos eventually do come together with Athos and Aramis on the side of Charles I against Mazarin. I hope the 4 come together in the next book!

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LibraryThing member gibbon

This is the third in the series of five historical romances by Dumas pere which begins with "The three musketeers" and ends with "The man in the iron mask". Son of Athos, the Vicomte has the misfortune to love Louise de la Valliere who will become the mistress of Louis XIV.

LibraryThing member MarquesadeFlambe

The first third of the second sequel to The Three Musketeers. Good, but incomplete, obviously.

LibraryThing member Clurb

Whilst D'Artagnan and Athos embroil themselves in the restoration of the English monarchy, Aramis and Porthos have their own secrets to keep, and Raoul is becoming well-known at court.

Not as action-packed as the preceding Musketeers books but it sets up some intriguing plot lines for the next two

volumes.

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LibraryThing member pageboy

Every bit as good as the previous two installments of the Musketeers cycle it could not fail to enthrall all who have enjoyed 'The Three Musketeers' and 'Twenty Years After.' Not a book to take up if you haven't read the previous installments.

LibraryThing member TadAD

Dumas' third volume of about the four musketeers is usually split into three parts, of which this is the first. The swashbuckling of the first two books is significantly reduced; the story is now one about political intrigue.

LibraryThing member Schmerguls

1203. The Vicomte de Bragelonne, by Alexandre Duman (22 Dec 1972) This is the third volume of the D'Artagnan cycle by Dumas. It is laid in 1660, and covers the restoration of Charles II to the throne of England, the death of Mazarin, and the beginnings of the intrigues where Aramis and Porthos are

leagued with Fouquet against the King and d'Artagnan. There are two more volumes in the cycle: Louise de la Valliere (which I did not read till 17 Mar 1974) and The Man in the Iron Mask (which I did not read till 16 Feb 1975). This volume has 92 chapters and I did not find it as good or as exhilarating as Twenty Years After, the preceding volume in the cycle, which I had finished 25 Nov 1972.

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LibraryThing member lkernagh

This one - which comprises the first 75 chapters of the last D'Artagnan adventure - was a bit of a let down after the wonderful fun and excitement of The Three Musketeers and the rather suspense-building story of Twenty Years After. Now 35 years into the D'Artagnan story, this first part is more

focused on building the shifts in power that occurred in 1660 - where an exiled Charles II strives to return to the English throne and a young Louis XVI of France starts his transformation from a shadow king controlled by Cardinal Mazarin (Cardinal Richileau's replacement as the most important person in France) to becoming the Sun King. Not an awful lot of skirmishes or adventuring in this one. More about political events and the corrupt powers with near absolute control over matters. Political intrigues do capture my attention, but not to the same extent and out and out swashbuckling adventures of do first and think later do. Yes, I realize that
D'Artagnan is now in his early 50's and his friends are even older but an adventure that becomes predominantly back room politics and underhanded dealings is a bit of a let down after the previous adventures of the younger musketeers. D'Artagnan is still the naive individual we met in The Three Musketeers and still seems to find himself taking paths that might be less than ideal. At least experience has made him a more jaded individual, not quite so willing to blindly follow his masters and finally realizing that one does require some financial security as one grows older. While Athos plays a large role in this one with D'Artagnan, there is very little of Porthos, Aramis or even the Viscount of Bragelonne. One can only hope that the Viscount has a larger role in the next part, "Ten Years Later", but it does make me wonder why the English editions that broke this one into four books, didn't think to call the first book "Ten Years Later" as being a fitting explanation of where the story resumes from (ten years after the end of the adventures told in "Twenty Years After") and then called the second book "The Viscount of Bragelonne". Here is hoping that things start to pick up.... maybe with the Viscount taking the lead in the swashbuckling aspect of the adventures. Besides, Louis XVI - or at least Dumas' representation of him - is starting to intrigue me.

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LibraryThing member lkernagh

Okay, this was not the swashbuckling adventures of The Three Musketeers. Not by a long shot. Given that so many of the characters in this one are the next generation, so to speak, I was hopeful for some youthful adventures. Instead, all we get is over 400 pages of drama of the jealous, lustful and

scandal-hungry members of the French court, along with various pastoral fancies and a growing love triangle that can only become bad news for someone. Even the power struggles that arise between Fouquet, the superintendent of finance, and Cardinal Mazarin's clerk Colbert, don't have enough teeth to make them interesting. It all just comes across as petty antics. Aramis and D'Artagnan both play minor roles in this one, with Porthos and Athos only being vaguely mentioned. Nice to see Raoul taking on the role of the voice of reason, when he is in the picture, but for the most part, this one is all about French court life. What I did find rather odd - and it might have just been me - was not so much the lack of swords play and missing the whole protect, honor and glory thing, but the weird, almost Shakespearean manner in which the court activities during the fête at Fontainbleau are portrayed. It is because of this aspect, I can really only recommend this one to readers who might enjoy Louis XIV's court becoming a variation on Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream. To its credit, the story does contain some wonderful references to the possible background of a mystery man locked up in the Bastille, and the secret that is larger than all other secrets. Foreshadowing for what is to come... too bad that bit only occupies about 25 pages of the story!

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LibraryThing member Lukerik

This is more Twenty Years After than Three Musketeers. As it's only the first part of a long novel it's hard to judge whether the varied events will be drawn into anything resembling a coherent plot (which Twenty Years lacked) or if we will find any over riding themes. It's interested in money and

social status. It's highly readable and when you're sitting down and reading it the pages just fly over but I didn't feel the urge to read that I perhaps would have done if there were a little more intellectual and emotional content. There are some funny moments and the chapter 'Throes' is a little comic masterpiece. The introduction contains spoilers, as do the notes, though in their case they are not as bad as in the previous volume. I wonder if Mr Coward received complaints

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LibraryThing member leslie.98

This audiobook edition, marvelously narrated by Simon Vance, is the first volume of the 3-volume division of Dumas' opus "The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Or Ten Years Later". My review of the plot is located under the Kindle edition of "The Vicomte de Bragelonne".

LibraryThing member leslie.98

This volume (#3.2 in the D'Artagnan series) had less adventure and more plotting than the previous ones in the series. I have already read "The Man in the Iron Mask" (volume #3.4) and I could see that a lot of groundwork for that volume was being laid. I am unhappy about Aramis who is more clearly

on the opposite side from D'Artagnan, Athos, and Raoul. He has become very ambitious -- I miss the lover! And despite the fact that he knows Raoul loves Louise de la Valliere, he doesn't hesitate to involve her in his plots.

D'Artagnan & Athos hardly appear in this volume -- I hope they appear more in the next volume, "Louise de la Valliere" (#3.3).

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LibraryThing member ladycato

This continuation of the Three Musketeers follows them well into middle age. There are still swordfights, court intrigues, and acts of daring-do, but also gout and disillusion. The friendship between the men is not what it was, but the respect and fondness are still there. The younger generation,

including the titular Vicomte de Bragelonne, also play larger roles.

I was more engaged when characters like D'Artagnan and Raoul were on the page than other, less-pleasant figures of court. I did skim some. Dumas's action and zingy dialogue remain fantastic. The book does feel long, though. So very long. And there are two more books (not included in this volume, despite confusing wording at the start of this edition) to complete this arc of the musketeers' lives.

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LibraryThing member et.carole

The series begins to become entertaining.
My favorite quote is when Planche wants to put Cromwell in a cage and charge to see him.

LibraryThing member leslie.98

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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend

The D'Artagnan books by Dumas did form a large part of his bread and butter writing in his later years. Having Mined the Four Musketeers for what they were worth, there was no one left but the son of Athos. while there was less violence in the age of Louis XIV, the themes of this period deal more

with relationship of men and women, and the tangled sexual careeer of that monarch is explored in depth, beginning with this book.

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