The Three Musketeers / Alexandre Dumas

 

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have dim memories of watching a tv show about the Three Musketeers when I was a child. Particularly the four men crossing swords and proclaiming “One for all and all for one!” That doesn't happen very often in the book, much to my surprise. I was always mystified as a youngster why there were four men, but the show was titled Three Musketeers. That matter is finally explained to me, as D'Artagnon doesn't belong to the same military unit as his friends do.

I had to continually remind myself that these were extremely young men, to try to excuse some of their behaviour, so belligerent, rash, selfish, and manipulative! Relying on women for their spending money, drinking like fish, continually involved in plots and counterplots. But if these are honourable gentlemen, Goddess save me from the cads of that time! Their honour doesn't seem to hold very much water, if there is something to be gained from being deceitful.

So many people adore this novel, I wonder what I'm missing? Yes, there is swashbuckling (to a ridiculous extreme) but serious history is reduced to a series of love affairs and jealousies. It seemed perilously close to being a tawdry novel, redeemed only by its age and general reputation. I have seen these characters referred in so many other works, they have obviously been influential. People, such as myself until now, reference its details though they haven't read it. Was it Mark Twain who declared that a classic is a book that people praise but don't read?

I can appreciate that this was an influential novel, but my goodness it was long!


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