The Three Musketeers; or, the Feats and Fortunes of a Gascon Adventurer.

London: Bruce and Wyld, 1846. Set in the mid 17th century, Alexandre Dumas' masterpiece, The Three Musketeers, chronicles the adventures of the young, foolhardy, and brave d'Artagnan as he leaves his family in Gascony to join the Musketeers of the Guard in Paris. A military branch of the Royal Household of the French monarchy, the King's Musketeers furnished a company of light cavalry and formed the royal guard for the king while he was outside of the royal residences. As the story goes: once in Paris, d'Artagnan is appointed by King Louis XIII to Des Essart's company of the King's Guard and befriends three Musketeers: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. He soon becomes involved in a plot of seduction, murder and revenge that ultimately results in his promotion to the Musketeers, although he is left heartbroken and filled with regret. First serialized from March to July of 1844 (four years before the beginning of the French Revolution), Dumas used the protagonist's adventures as a vehicle to explore the injustices that defined the current social and political climate. The novel was adapted into numerous television series and films including the 1993 Austrian-American action-adventure comedy starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, and Tim Curry.