The Vicomte of Bragelonne Ten Years Later Reading
Soon after the book begins, the domestic villain of the piece arrives: "Madame," Henrietta of England, the wife of "Monsieur," Duke of Orleans, effete younger brother of the king. Henrietta, an intelligent but superficial coquette, attracts a wealth of admirers, one of whom is the Duke of Buckingham, and the quarrels of these admirers—including a duel on a small strip of land off the French coast--evoke the romantic adventures and chivalry virtues of The Three Musketeers. The affecting scene in which the Queen Mother, Anne of Austria, is forced to banish this young duke, the son of her dead lover—the lover who gave her "The Diamond Studs," the occasion for our musketeers greatest exploit—signals that the days of big-hearted adventure may exist at an end. The immature king has come up to manhood, and in this new world dominated by his powerful personality, the straightforward erstwhile political plots of "king" and "cardinal" are no more. Instead, they are replaced by imperceptible palace intrigues, centering around King Louis himself, and his loves, particularly his passion for the tenderhearted Louise de la Valliere. Toward the terminate of the book, in reference to an act of elegant public humiliation staged by Madame in revenge against the King, Dumas sums up the difference in the spirit of the historic period: *In some editions X Years Later appears every bit a divide volume; in others, the long series--which is, after all, one big novel--is issued in three volumes instead.
This 2nd of the four volumes* which incorporate the conclusion of the "The Four Musketeers" (The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de la Valliere, The Man in the Iron Mask) is maybe the most significant, for it shows the reader, more than clearly than the three others, how the meaning of heroism and adventure shift during the reign of that most absolute of monarchs, "The Sun King," Louis XIV. Let it not be supposed, even so, that Madame possessed such terrible passions as the heroines of the middle ages, or that she regarded things from a pessimistic point of view; on the contrary, Madame, immature, amiable, of cultivated intellect, coquettish, loving in her nature, but rather from fancy, or imagination, or appetite, than from her heart—Madame, we say, on the reverse, inaugurated that epoch of light and fleeting amusements, which distinguished the hundred and 20 years that intervened between the middle of the seventeenth century, and the last quarter of the eighteenth.
The times phone call out for a deep, all-encompassing intrigue to relieve our iv aging quondam musketeers from these "low-cal and fleeting amusements," and Aramis—the schemer and consummate politician of the four—has been working overtime. His efforts will eventually bear fruit in The Man in the Iron Mask.
First, a recap. I am reading the D'Artagnan Romances via the Complimentary Kindle ebooks bachelor on Amazon: Book 1: The Three Musketeers X Years Later actually refers to the ten years in between 20 Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne, so really, I call back the titles of Books 3a and 3b should have been swapped. While the Vicomte however is not consistently a central character throughout this book, he certainly plays a much bigger role here than in the book that was named after him. D'Artagnan and Athos make a couple cursory appearances in this book, simply mostly they are absent. Porthos is practically non-existent. Aramis is the key musketeer in this book, and chapters about him appear intermittently. Mostly they are setting the stage for The Man in the Iron Mask - which I only know from watching the Leonardo DiCaprio movie years ago. Surprisingly, the movie seems to take sufficiently equipped me to understand Aramis's secrets, and honestly, I think if I did not already know where the Aramis storyline is leading, I would be clumsily confused about his doings in this book. So, if this book isn't really nearly the musketeers, then what's information technology all well-nigh? Similar a Jane Austen novel, this book is mostly most the dearest interests of "the young people". Our beloved musketeers, along with Anne of Austria, play supporting roles for the adjacent generation - the Vicomte de Bragelonne and Rex Louis XIV, among others. Relationships are complicated by multiple love triangles, and there'south a whole lot of drama going on at the court. I plant this book entertaining enough to proceed upwardly with information technology, merely non peculiarly compelling. It was easy to put information technology downward and not selection it upwardly again for days at a time.
Book 2: Twenty Years After
Book 3a: The Vicomte de Bragelonne
Volume 3b: 10 Years Later
Book 3c: Louise de la Vallière
Book 3d: The Human in the Iron Mask
The 3rd of the D'Artagnan romances is a huge volume. I read information technology in this form, making this the second of the four parts of the 3rd volume. In this i, the Musketeers take a backseat to some Court intrigue. Information technology involves the intrigues surrounding Henrietta, the sis to King Charles Two of England, and sister-in-constabulary to Louis XIV. She draws many men to her, and prompts the impulse to duel, even though dueling has been interdicted by Louis. There are likewise intrigues involving her maids, almost notably Louise de la Valliere, who is the titular character of volume 3. This is a very long, multi-faceted tale, merely its always entertaining. In this book, I think Dumas captured specially well the inwards turning of the French court, so that everything revolves around Louis, and how this basically trivializes everything else that is going on in the state and the world. Information technology shows the beginnings of a very decadent court structure, and does it in a way that makes it both charming and repulsive. It'due south not as fun as the over the meridian adventures of the Musketeers, but it was still worth reading.
I wish I cared about any of the romance subplots, because there are some beautiful descriptions in there, just this book merely has too much detail. I feel similar Cate Blanchett in "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" when she heedlessly tells the aliens that what she wants for a advantage is to "know everything" and consequently her head explodes. Only my head feels bloated not merely from too much data but likewise from boredom. Well at least the much more exciting power struggle between Colbert and Fouquet also advances. A bit. A teenie tinsy bit. Meanwhile, Aramis, as the but 1 of the original main characters to have an actual speaking office in this function, becomes the criminal overlord of the Jesuits and makes a couple of decisions that are going to seize with teeth him in the ass, eventually, but no worries yet, he still has about 1200 pages to go. *sigh* Well at least in that location are promises of something other than love triangles happening in the next part.
This volume (#3.2 in the D'Artagnan series) had less hazard and more plotting than the previous ones in the serial. I have already read "The Human being in the Fe Mask" (volume #three.4) and I could see that a lot of groundwork for that volume was being laid. I am unhappy about Aramis who D'Artagnan & Athos hardly appear in this volume -- I hope they appear more in the next volume, "Louise de la Valliere" (#3.iii).
Again, this was OK, but had alot of stuff I'm not sure why is in in that location. I'thousand starting to think that these books could but also have been one volume, with as many pages every bit one of the books.
The language is of course beautiful, but again, it's so "flowery", information technology makes it much, much longer than it needed to be.
This book, I skimmed through much of it, as long periods didn't actually take anything to say for the story. The next, I will probably be even more selective in what I choose to read thoroughly.
Young D'Artagnan becomes embroiled in court intrigues, international politics, and ill-fated diplomacy between imperial lovers. The book at hand is the second volume of the third serial. Louis XIV is well past the historic period where he should rule, only the bilious Cardinal Mazarin refuses to relinquish the reins of power. Meanwhile, Charles II, a king without a country, travels Europe seeking aid from his young man monarchs.
Information technology'southward nice to finally become to spend some fourth dimension with the characters and become to know them but the original four were almost completely gone from this installment. Likewise I am completely disappointed in La Valliere and feel bad for Raoul. I would have liked to spend more than time with him and less time chasing the dalliances at court in circles.
I am thoroughly enjoying this series, and can hardly wait to movement on to the next one!
I love this book nigh as original novel. That'due south so cracking that we have a very extensive story about d'Artagnan and his friends.
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Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70032.Ten_Years_Later
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