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The Vicomte de Bragelonne


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The Vicomte de Bragelonne is the final volume of D'Artagnan Romances. When Dumas wrote the novel publishers considered it too long and so they divided it into 3 sections. Some years later a different publisher divided it into 4 sections. Depending on which version you work off some of the books may start at different points. Our website is going to use the 4 book edition, which is outlined below:

  • The Vicomte de Bragelonne
      First 75 chapters of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
      Covers the year 1660.
  • Ten Years Later
      Chapters 76-140 of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
      Covers the years 1660-1661.
  • Louise de la Valliere
      Chapters 141-208 of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
      Covers the year 1661.
  • The Man in the Iron Mask
      Chapters 209-269 of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
      Covers the year 1660.


    Below you can find a synopsis of the The Vicomte de Bragelonne:

    It is the year 1660, and D'Artagnan, after thirty-five years of loyal service, has become disgusted with serving King Louis XIV while the real power resides with the Cardinal Mazarin, and has tendered his resignation. He embarks on his own project, that of restoring Charles II to the throne of England, and, with the help of Athos, succeeds, earning himself quite a fortune in the process. D'Artagnan returns to Paris to live the life of a rich citizen, and Athos, after negotiating the marriage of Philip, the king's brother, to Princess Henrietta of England, likewise retires to his own estate, La Fere. Meanwhile, Mazarin has finally died, and left Louis to assume the reigns of power, with the assistance of M. Colbert, formerly Mazarin's trusted clerk. Colbert has an intense hatred for M. Fouquet, the king's superintendent of finances, and has resolved to use any means necessary to bring about his fall. With the new rank of intendant bestowed on him by Louis, Colbert succeeds in having two of Fouquet's loyal friends tried and executed. He then brings to the king's attention that Fouquet is fortifying the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer, and could possibly be planning to use it as a base for some military operation against the king. Louis calls D'Artagnan out of retirement and sends him to investigate the island, promising him a tremendous salary and his long-promised promotion to captain of the musketeers upon his return. At Belle-Isle, D'Artagnan discovers that the engineer of the fortifications is, in fact, Porthos, now the Baron du Vallon, and that's not all. The blueprints for the island, although in Porthos's handwriting, show evidence of another script that has been erased, that of Aramis. D'Artagnan later discovers that Aramis has become the bishop of Vannes, which is, coincidentally, a parish belonging to M. Fouquet. Suspecting that D'Artagnan has arrived on the king's behalf to investigate, Aramis tricks D'Artagnan into wandering around Vannes in search of Porthos, and sends Porthos on an heroic ride back to Paris to warn Fouquet of the danger. Fouquet rushes to the king, and gives him Belle-Isle as a present, thus allaying any suspicion, and at the same time humiliating Colbert, just minutes before the usher announces someone else seeking an audience with the king.

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    Recent Forum Posts on The Vicomte de Bragelonne

    Vicomte de Bragelonne

    The version of the Vicomte de Bragelonne which I read was over 100 years old. It was presented to my grandfather for good attendance at school in March 1899. He was a pupil at Diamond Hall Boys' School, Sunderland.
    I was determined to read the book after acquiring it from my mother. Being a slow but methodical reader it took me several weeks to complete. I now feel sure that I am the first person to read this copy of the book for about 100 years.
    I find it difficult to recommend it as a 'good read' despite the fact that it is now a family heirloom. The book is essentially three stories with some common characters and as this is not made clear from the outset I found it difficult to link the first story to the second. The language used in the book was very strange..archaic perhaps, even allowing for the fact that the book was written about 150 years ago and is a translation from the French. I found a great many words in the book which I had never seen before. It would have been interesting to look up the words in a dictionary as I read the book but the subsequent distraction would have further increased the reading time.

    Posted By RonSmith at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in The Vicomte de Bragelonne || 0 Replies

    dumas

    I have a four book set of alexandre dumas (originals) that i would like to sell,
    do you have any suggestions?

    Posted By Paula Kimmel at Sat 13 Sep 2003, 1:00 AM in The Vicomte de Bragelonne || 1 Reply

    No Subject

    This book is another excellent musketeer novel. Unlike the first two, however, the four musketeers are rarely all together. In fact Aramis and Pothos are barley seen in the story. Despite the title, the Vicomte de Bragelonne also has a small role which is good as I just can't seem to get very interested in him. Once again, the musketeers achieving great feats working to restore a monarch. A wonderful read, although I must admit that the story seems to slow down a bit at the end as the focus shift to Raoul.

    Posted By drew at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in The Vicomte de Bragelonne || 0 Replies

    No Subject

    It is a good book

    Posted By Jessika young at Tue 15 Apr 2003, 1:00 AM in The Vicomte de Bragelonne || 2 Replies

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