Ten Years Later

[Project Gutenberg eBook 1258 listed below, is of the same title as eBook 2681 and its contents overlap those of two other volumes: it includes all the chapters of eBook 2609 and the first 28 chapters of 2681]

TITLE PG EBOOK# DATES VOLUME CHAPTERS Ten Years Later 1258 1660–1661 3 1–104

PROJECT GUTENBERG TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

The Vicomte de Bragelonne is the final volume of D’Artagnan Romances: it is usually split into three or four parts, and the final portion is entitled The Man in the Iron Mask. The Man in the Iron Mask we’re familiar with today is the last volume of the four-volume edition. [Not all the editions split them in the same manner, hence some of the confusion. . .but wait. . .there’s yet more reason for confusion.]

One thing that may be causing confusion is that the etext entitled Ten Years Later, says it’s the sequel to The Three Musketeers. While this is technically true, there’s another book, Twenty Years After, that comes between. The confusion is generated by the two facts that many people see those titles as meaning Ten and Twenty Years “After” the original story . . . however, this is why the different words “After” and “Later” . . . the Ten Years “After” is ten years after the Twenty Years later. . . as per history. Also, the third book of the D’Artagnan Romances, while entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, has the subtitle Ten Years Later. These two titles are also given to different volumes: The Vicomte de Bragelonne can refer to the whole book, or the first volume of the three or four-volume editions. Ten Years Later can, similarly, refer to the whole book, or the second volume of the four-volume edition. Here is a guide to the series which may prove helpful:

The Three Musketeers: Etext 1257 - First book of the D’Artagnan Romances. Covers the years 1625-1628.

Twenty Years After: Etext 1259 - Second book of the D’Artagnan Romances. Covers the years 1648-1649.

Ten Years Later: Etext 1258 - First 104 chapters of the third book of the D’Artagnan Romances. Covers the years 1660-1661.

The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Etext 2609 (first in the new series) - First 75 chapters of the third book of the D’Artagnan Romances. Covers the year 1660.

Ten Years Later: Etext 2681 Chapters 76-140 of that third book of the D’Artagnan Romances. Covers the years 1660-1661.

Louise de la Vallière: 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 years 1661-1673.

Many thanks to Dr. David Coward, whose editions of the D’Artagnan Romances have proved an invaluable source of information.

Introduction:

In the months of March-July in 1844, in the magazine Le Siecle, the first portion of a story appeared, penned by the celebrated playwright Alexandre Dumas. It was based, he claimed, on some manuscripts he had found a year earlier in the Bibliotheque Nationale while researching a history he planned to write on Louis XIV. They chronicled the adventures of a young man named D’Artagnan who, upon entering Paris, became almost immediately embroiled in court intrigues, international politics, and ill-fated affairs between royal lovers. Over the next six years, readers would enjoy the adventures of this youth and his three famous friends, Porthos, Athos, and Aramis, as their exploits unraveled behind the scenes of some of the most momentous events in French and even English history.

Eventually these serialized adventures were published in novel form, and became the three D’Artagnan Romances known today. Here is a brief summary of the first two novels:

The Three Musketeers (serialized March—July, 1844): The year is 1625. The young D’Artagnan arrives in Paris at the tender age of 18, and almost immediately offends three musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos. Instead of dueling, the four are attacked by five of the Cardinal’s guards, and the courage of the youth is made apparent during the battle. The four become fast friends, and, when asked by D’Artagnan’s landlord to find his missing wife, embark upon an adventure that takes them across both France and England in order to thwart the plans of the Cardinal Richelieu. Along the way, they encounter a beautiful young spy, named simply Milady, who will stop at nothing to disgrace Queen Anne of Austria before her husband, Louis XIII, and take her revenge upon the four friends.