How to Read The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (Introductory Lecture) (Patreon)

'Gentlemen, if I may, I shall revise your words somewhat. You said there were only three of you, but it seems to me that we are four. I don't have the clothes, but I have the soul. My heart is a musketeer's!'

It’s time to begin our journey through Alexandre Dumas' swashbuckling adventure romance: The Three Musketeers.

Our reading will teach us about friendship, honour, glory, loyalty, serial reading, romance, power, heroic codes, the rise of the novel, the human condition, and much more.

Today we’re discussing how best to break into this sweeping story, whilst refraining from plot spoilers, and how to bring ourselves fully to one of the most iconic works of 19th century French Literature.  

Video Timestamps:

0:00 why read The Three Musketeers?

2:00 how to read Alexandre Dumas

4:00 Dumas book club lecture series

5:00 welcome to 17th century France

6:00 Alexandre Dumas vs Victor Hugo

6:30 when is The Three Musketeers set?

7:00 the reign of King Louis XIII

9:00 Catholicism vs Protestantism

11:00 who were the Huguenots? 

12:00 the French wars of religion

13:00 political makeup of France

14:00 Huguenot stronghold towns

15:00 history of England vs France

16:00 on the Thirty Years War

17:00 King and Queen of France

18:00 who was Cardinal Richelieu?

19:00 the siege of La Rochelle

20:00 who were the musketeers?

21:00 aspirational figures for men

22:00 an era of duels and fighting

23:00 what were the real musketeers like?

24:00 Dumas describes the king’s men

25:00 our central hero d’Artagnan

26:00 the opening of the novel

27:00 Porthos, Athos, and Aramis

28:00 how to duel with honour

29:00 d’Artagnan’s triple duel

30:00 ‘all for one, and one for all’

31:00 fighting the Cardinal’s men

32:00 when characters become friends

33:00 the real life d’Artagnan

34:00 Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras

35:00 the legacy of General Dumas

37:00 General Dumas vs Napoleon

39:00 how Dumas honours his father

41:00 how Dumas became a writer

42:00 lifestyle of Alexandre Dumas

43:00 influence of revolution in France

45:00 vague de passion in romantic era

47:00 political whiplash in France

48:00 collaboration with August Maquet

50:00 how was Dumas so prolific?

52:00 fiction factory of Alexandre Dumas

53:00 professional jealousy and popularity

54:00 writer-reader bond of friendship

56:00 Alexandre Dumas and Charles Dickens

57:00 the original serialised publication

58:00 the feuilleton of newspapers

59:00 daily serialised storytelling

1:00:00 literature is a form of friendship

1:02:00 19th century rise of popular fiction

1:04:00 what makes a work a classic?

1:05:00 from Homer to Alexandre Dumas

1:06:00 influence of Sir Walter Scott

1:07:00 how Dumas writes history

1:08:00 reading the entire tradition

1:09:00 Alexandre Dumas’ characterisation

1:10:00 are the musketeers heroic?

1:11:00 always telling the same stories

1:12:00 why do we love stories so much?

1:13:00 which translation of Dumas is best?

1:15:00 the Richard Pevear translation

1:18:00 Lawrence Ellsworth translation

1:21:00 anonymous first English translation

1:24:00 reading Dumas with the book club

1:26:00 film adaptations of The Three Musketeers

1:27:00 further recommendations for reading

1:28:00 your experience with this story?

Recommended Resources:

• Translation: I am working from the Richard Pevear translation available in Penguin paperback for our read-through. The Lawrence Ellsworth is another superb choice. For an antiquated flavour, Everyman's Library have the anonymous first English translation in hardback, upon which so many subsequent translations would be based. Enjoy our taste test in the video and let us know which one captivates you the most.

• Film Appreciation: There are so many film and television adaptations of Alexandre Dumas' story. We mentioned many of them towards the end of the video, but I would like to recommend three of my personal favourites. Richard Lester's 1973 film, starring great actors like Michael York, Raquel Welch, and Oliver Reed, is an absolute classic of cinema in its own right and nails the tone of the story (make sure you watch the follow-up second part with The Four Musketeers). The recent French two-parter from 2023, D'artagnan and Milady, starring François Civil, Eva Green, and Vincent Cassel, is a treat with astonishing direction, cinematography, and acting. If you want the serial feel, then the BBC have three seasons for you in their 2014-16 television adaptation.

• Biography: There are two superb biographies that will make your reading all the more rewarding. One is of Alexandre Dumas himself: The King of Romance by F. W. J. Hemminges. And the other is of his father: The Black Count by Tom Reiss. Reading about the life of Dumas' father is as riveting as tearing through one of his son's novels. One can see why his father inspired his fiction so deeply.

• Comparative Exercise: As you read through, you might find it rewarding to ask yourself: how do the heroes of Dumas' story compare with those we have seen in Homer's Iliad? If you have read Cervantes' Don Quixote, the plays of Shakespeare, and/or the medieval romances in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, can you see Dumas as an extension of this same tradition? Reflecting on our reading of Flaubert's Madame Bovary earlier this year, it will be interesting to keep an eye out for what romance and realism do differently, and also what they ultimately have in common. If you have read The Count of Monte Cristo with us, then remain attuned to which of Dumas' narratives you end up preferring.

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will cover events from chapter one up to and including chapter twenty-two of the story, which is entitled 'The Ballet of the Merlaison.' And this discussion will be this coming weekend.

So start making your way into the work, enter the world of Alexandre Dumas, meet his fantastic characters, and note down any themes, ideas, or passages that personally resonate with you.

Questions for You:

1) What is your current relationship with Alexandre Dumas? Is this your first reading or a rereading of this great story?

2) What are you hoping to get out of your deep reading of The Three Musketeers?

3) What themes from your wider reading would you like to pull into Dumas?

4) What makes a story exciting for you? And what special quality leads to some stories remaining popular across time?

Happy reading, everybody!