What is the story of the Three Musketeers about? The main characters, “The Three Musketeers”: character descriptions

Report 6th grade.

Alexandre Dumas, famous French writer XIX century, author read by millions of people different countries the world of the novels “Queen Margot”, “Countess Monsoreau”. "The Count of Montecristo" and other adventure novels, became famous primarily for the novel "The Three Musketeers" and two continuation novels. The most popular trilogy by A. Dumas includes three novels: “The Three Musketeers”, the first part of the trilogy, the novels “Twenty Years Later” and “The Vicomte de Bragelonne, or Ten Lays Later”.

In these novels, the writer depicts the life of France in the 17th century, during the reign of Louis XIII, family life, intrigues, duels, popular uprisings. These novels feature real historical figures - Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu, Cardinal Mazarin, Queen Anne of Austria, the English Duke of Buckingham and others. The novels are “saturated with drama and at the same time romanticism; they showed a powerful imagination, a virtuosic skill as a storyteller,” Alexandre Dumas (M. Treskunov).

In the center of the plot of all three novels are the fearless royal musketeers - Athos, Aramis and Porthos, and with them the young D'Artagnan and their glorious deeds; the intrigue is built on this. The writer contrasts the cold arrogance, treachery, callousness of the nobles with the generosity and valor of his heroes, “Moreover,” writes critic M. Treskunov, “Dumas gave them such a living appearance that to this day in France they are revered as remarkable figures of past times: a monument was erected to D’Artagnan in Osh, road signs in Gascony remind that the famous Musketeers once lived in this region." The musketeers Athos, Porthos and Aramis, who joined their brotherhood D'Artagnan, are enterprising, resourceful, courageous, tireless in achieving a goal that is never low or dishonest. In them, as the researcher rightly notes, the spirit of that glorious, heroic age is felt , in which D'Artagnan grew up, when active, active people lived; they also embodied the memory of the writer’s father, the honored military general Dumas, whose career began with the fact that he alone captured 13 Austrians and in a year and a half rose from non-commissioned officer to army commander.

Already in the first novel - “The Three Musketeers” - features characteristic of the entire trilogy appeared: a most entertaining plot, Dumas’s ability to create situations that captivate the reader, rapid movement of action, rich content, a large number of characters.

The main source for the novel by A. Dumas was the book by Courtille de Sandre, published in Holland in 1701, “Memoirs of Monsieur D'Artagnan, Lieutenant-Commander of the First Company of the Royal Musketeers, containing many private and secret things that happened during the reign of Louis the Great.”

The names of the three musketeers, which Dumas read about in de Sandra’s book, caused him some bewilderment; he thought that these were pseudonyms behind which well-known people were hiding.

However, as researchers say, these people actually existed.

Thus, it is known that Athos was born in France, in the province of Béarn, was an excellent fencer, died after one duel, his body was found near the favorite place of duelists.

Porthos was named Tsaaka de Porto. He came from a noble French family, famous in the 19th century, and in fact served in a detachment of royal musketeers.

Aramis (real name - Aramits) lived for some time in the Baritone Valley and also served in a detachment of musketeers.

From the “Memoirs” of de Sandra A. Dumas, as M. Treskunov writes, “he drew numerous details of the customs of the 17th century, took the names of his heroes, an episode of D’Artagnan’s journey to Paris, an intrigue with my lady, the theft of a letter of recommendation to Treville, a duel in Pre -o-Clerk, images of the cardinal's guards, D'Artagnan's entry into Desessart's regiment.

Another source for writing the trilogy was Roederer’s book “Political and Love Intrigues of the French Court.” From here Dumas took the story of the diamonds sent by Anne of Austria to the Duke of Buckingham.

Based on these sources, the writer’s talent and his rich imagination made it possible to create the trilogy about the Three Musketeers, which became popular all over the world, works that are very original both in content and in artistic form.

A. Dumas attached great importance to the entertaining plot and dramatic tension of the narrative. He, as researchers note, revives the tradition of the adventure novel of the 19th-18th centuries. In the 19th century, he does not see active, brave, active heroes, so he turns to the historical past.

The most popular of the entire series is the novel "The Three Musketeers". “This novel,” writes M. Treskunov, “is characterized by swiftness and rapidly developing intrigue, an optimistic portrayal of life as a continuous activity, an intense dramatic composition, and easy and simple language.” The composition of the novel "The Three Musketeers", just like the others, is determined literary form work, its genre; this is a feuilleton novel that began to appear in the years when A. Dumas wrote. The genre of the feuilleton novel required from the author, firstly, the completeness of each chapter and, secondly, their organic connection in the development of the plot of the entire work. Dumas wrote each chapter in such a way that its ending served as the beginning of the episode, which is revealed in the next chapter. The novel contains many adventures, fascinating events, descriptions of conspiracies, fights, duels, complex intrigues - all this keeps the reader in constant suspense, this was the reason for such incredible popularity of A. Dumas's novels.

The main characters - the musketeers - are very attractive; they are brave, enterprising and selfless, chivalrously noble, they are always together, no matter what difficult situations they find themselves in. Their slogan: “One for all and all for one” is still a symbol of true and devoted friendship.

Based on the first novel from the trilogy by A. Dumas in 1979, Russian director G.E. Yungvald-Khilkevich directed the cult film “D”Artagnan and the Three Musketeers.” D”Artagnan in this film was played by the famous artist M. Boyarsky, songs from the film were performed then, it seems, by the whole country. D'Artagnan became a symbol of Courage, Devotion, Resourcefulness, Independence and Nobility.

The second part of the trilogy - “Twenty Legs Later” (1845) - is the same “(adventurous historical novel with exciting, fast-paced intrigue. Moreover, it is much more historical than the first part of the trilogy” (VI. Treskunov).

In this part of the trilogy, the writer describes much more real historical events: Fronde in France (Fronde is the struggle of the large feudal aristocracy in alliance with the bourgeoisie and the people against the established absolute monarchy); civil war in England. And here, in addition to fictional heroes, we see a lot historical figures: English King Charles 1, Cardinal Mazarin, French Queen Anne of Austria, Cromwell and others.

A. Dumas significantly enhances the theme of the nobility of his main characters: Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan. He emphasizes in them, first of all, their courage and humanity. It is these traits of their characters that provide them with victory over Cromwell, Mazarin and Anne of Austria .

This novel is not only adventure, but also psychological. The writer reveals inner world their heroes, what drives their actions.

The ending of the novel is happy: the adventures and exploits of four generous, brave and selflessly devoted heroes end happily here.

But the last part of the trilogy - “Viscount d'Brazhelon, or Ten Years After” (1845-1848) is very different from the previous two.

In the last part of the trilogy, A. Dumas describes the events of the 17th century, when the young French king Louis XIV, who took the throne after his father, Louis X111, is an absolute monarch, before whom everyone is in awe. Louis XIV pursues an aggressive policy; in the 70s of the 17th century he begins a war 264 against Holland, the purpose of which is to conquer foreign lands and strengthen his position in Europe. His policy turns out to be disastrous for the heroes of Dumas's novel. Failure befalls Athos's son, Viscount de Bragelonne, Athos himself dies, and Northos, who has achieved many honors, also dies. At the end of the novel, D'Artagnan also dies - in the aggressive struggle unleashed by Louis XIV, he dies, a few minutes before his death he received the rank of Marshal of France.

A. Dumas psychologically accurately reveals the inner world of the king, cruel and cold, but outwardly attractive and charming. Satirically, the writer also shows Louis’s subordinates, hypocritical and groveling before the king. In such conditions, the heroes of the novel, honest, disinterested and noble, inevitably faced death.

All this affected the tone of the novel. Unlike the first two parts of the trilogy, it is devoid of optimistic notes. The fates of the heroes of the trilogy come to a sad end.

This is how A. Dumas' story ends about selfless friendship, love, and the glorious adventures of the musketeers - Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan.

Undoubtedly, this is one of the most romantic and popular books published in the era of the USSR. And it’s hard to imagine a boy of the 1960s/80s who wouldn’t read it avidly. But we have to say that the real times (around 1625), when this “romantic story” took place, were romanticized by Dumas, as they say, to the fullest... Which is quite understandable: after all, Dumas wrote “The Three Musketeers” as a pronounced "a commercial edition of the novel with a sequel", which was originally published chapter by chapter in the newspaper Le Siècle. And according to the agreement, the fee for Dumas in the newspaper was line-by-line - even if the line contained only one word “Yes!” And the “reading public” did not crave a dry historical narrative, but rather “romanticism” - and Dumas sought to live up to all expectations!

Therefore, more than 200 years after the siege of the rebellious fortress of La Rochelle (and Dumas’s “source of inspiration” - “Memoirs of Monsieur d’Artagnan, Lieutenant-Commander of the First Company of the Royal Musketeers”, a book written by Gasien de Courtille de Sandra - was also written more than 50 years after this event) - Dumas could allow himself, “for the good of the cause,” to embellish the life of the Louvre and all of Paris of those times without restraint and to his heart’s content. Although, to be honest, I seriously doubt that Dumas clearly imagined this life for himself. So the novel (and not to mention all its film adaptations) is as far from the truth from “historical France of the 20s of the 17th century” as the works of the authors of social realism about the “horrors of tsarism” are from real history.

The internal political confrontation described by Dumas also little corresponds to historical truth... Louis XIII and Anne of Austria were 24 years old in 1625, and Richelieu was 40 years old - therefore (including thanks to Dumas) the stereotype about “dictatorship” is still alive "Richelieu and the weak-willed king. But it was Richelieu who was an ardent supporter of strong royal power, and Louis eradicated conspiracies directed against Richelieu from the princes (including his brother, Gaston d'Orléans), the Queen Mother, the highest nobility and constantly supported his minister, who acted for the benefit of the king and France. By the way, in sociological surveys, Parisians most often call “The Great French” - Joan of Arc, de Gaulle and Richelieu, and only then Napoleon, considering him “after all a Corsican.”

Well, as for real life around 1625, the least evil of that time was dead flies in wine: by the way, it’s not for nothing that muskets in both Dumas and in the films drink bottled wine, not bottled wine. The sewer system in Paris at that time had a total length of just over 20 km. and for the contents of the “night vases” a sewer was legally provided in the middle of each “big” street. Which (especially given the abundance of horsemen and carriages) did not at all decorate the streets, which (don’t believe the films) were by no means all sparkling with paving stones. Well, as for the premises of the Louvre, most of them “for hygiene purposes” were covered... with a layer of straw, which was changed only once a week, and the luxury of the royal palace (which we subconsciously imagine when reading the novel, again thanks to the films) appeared only about 50 years later, already under Louis XIV. And even then, after Louis XIV “The Sun King” moved the royal residence from the Louvre to Versailles.

So excuse me if I shattered some romantic illusions with the historical truth of life...

Rating: 9

What is the beauty of Dumas: he very rarely idealizes his heroes. Often the main actors his novels become people with dubious principles and aspirations: The Count of Monte Cristo, Joseph Balsamo, King Henry III... When Dumas writes in collaboration with Macke, the heroes turn out to be completely alive: with their own merits and demerits. And you love them just like that.

Athos is a depressed alcoholic who once hanged his sixteen-year-old wife and loves to kill Englishmen simply because they are Englishmen. Beats a servant.

Porthos is a glutton and a braggart, a dullard and a braggart. Thinks little, says a lot.

Aramis is a prude, a hypocrite, a womanizer.

D'Artagnan is a young choleric who uses his friends for his own benefit. He loves Constance - without failing to profit from my lady, periodically fucking her young maid Kat.

All together they are four thugs who commit drunken brawls and kill the cardinal’s guards in droves just because they are the cardinal’s guards.

Let's think: will such a foursome arouse our sympathy? A drunk, an idiot, a womanizer and a cynic who shoot at policemen and interfere in world politics with a rather intelligent and active prime minister? Will call. Only in one case - if they are all damn charming.

Dumas and Make tried their best. With Athos you taste the wine he drank. Together with Porthos, you boil up and rush headlong at innocent people (well, they looked at it wrong). Together with Aramis you are having fun in bed with a cute seamstress. Together with d'Artagnan, you build intrigues and plans... And most importantly, you believe in their absolute correctness. Then, of course, when you close the book, understanding puts everything in its place. But then you open it again - and, having taken a sip of wine from the bottle, you scream : “Death to the Cardinal’s guards!”

Rating: 10

The novel is the king of the genre. An ageless book, in relation to which the expression “read to death” is literal, and not just a catchphrase. A friend of childhood, a friend of youth - a friend for life. A work that has been read, is being read and will be read on all continents at all times and in all languages. Reference.

What a delightful style of the author, what brilliant literature! The lucky one who has not yet read the novel needs only to open the contents to be amazed by the chapter titles alone: ​​“The Mousetrap in the Seventeenth Century,” “Angevin Wine,” “On the Benefits of Chimneys,” “All Cats Are Gray at Night.”

The book is simply torn apart, dissolved into quotes:

“Athos was an optimist when it came to things, and a pessimist when it came to people”;

“Never does the future appear in such a rosy light as in those moments when you look at it through a glass of Chambertin”;

“The heart of the best of women is merciless towards the suffering of her rival”;

“A nobleman may accidentally reveal a secret, but a lackey will almost always sell it”;

“Try not to keep me waiting. At a quarter past twelve I'll cut off your ears as I go. “Great, I’ll be there at ten minutes to twelve!”;

“I am very sorry, sir, but I arrived first and will not pass second. “I’m very sorry, sir, but I arrived second, and will pass first”;

“I fight simply because I fight”;

“You did what you had to do, d'Artagnan, but perhaps you made a mistake”;

and of course, the famous - “My friend, for Athos this is too much, for the Count de La Fère, too little.”

A most fascinating plot, which almost immediately became a classic and subsequently gave rise to many imitations, borrowings and analogies. It still doesn’t seem in any way implausible, outdated or naive. Insanely brave adventures like breakfast on the Bastion of Saint-Gervais, intrigue powerful of the world This, love, the cold rage of my lady, the ringing of swords and the aroma of Burgundy, duels, footmen in livery and the sound of pistols jingling in a purse make up such a burning, exciting, exciting series of adventures that the reader is physically unable to stop reading.

And magnificent, memorable heroes - this is finally a creation where no one has the right to call anyone else's image cardboard. Adventurer and warm heart d'Artagnan, Aramis - poet and cunning, generous and honest Porthos and melancholy Athos - nobleman in in the best sense this word, whose essence is honor and nobility. Milady Winter, Lady Clarik, Charlotte Buxton, Countess de La Fère - my God, you can’t look for such a villain. In this competition, she would give a head start to Marie de Medici herself. The character of the great Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, turned out to be more than reliable. This is the man about whom Athos later said: “the terrible minister, so terrible for his master, so hated by him, went to the grave and took away the king, whom he did not want to leave on earth without himself, out of fear, undoubtedly, that he would not destroyed the building he erected.” What about the main characters - look at the secondary ones. The Duke of Buckingham, who is written in such a way that you immediately understand that he is English, damn it. A trickster and devoted servant of Planchet. A haberdasher and a real bourgeois is the scoundrel Bonacieux. Servant de Treville. And the gloomy Grimaud, who knows how to remain silent so eloquently.

This novel is included in the list of “the one book that I am allowed to take to a desert island” (the geeks with a grin thought about a reference book of edible plants and a first aid textbook, but I do not refuse my words).

One for all and all for one, gentlemen!

Rating: 10

“The Three Musketeers” is one of those things that definitely needs to be re-read several times and always at different ages. Each new reading reveals new aspects of this novel, and each time you perceive the events taking place in it and the actions of the characters differently. After childhood delight at the coolness of the main characters and their adventures, after excitingly following the intrigues and plot twists in their youth, you begin to take a closer look at those who are considered almost the standard of nobility - our Gascon and his three friends. And then you realize that not everything is so simple.

I will not write about the progressive role of Cardinal Richelieu in the unification of France and the actual work of the musketeers for the enemies of this unification; many have trampled on this topic, which, however, does not make their arguments less truthful. You can just take a closer look at the personal lives of the heroes, and be surprised to discover that they often commit actions that, to put it mildly, are completely unseemly, not only from our point of view, but also from the point of view of their contemporaries.

d'Artagnan. Having settled in Bonacieux's house, he is not going to pay him, believing that the despicable city dweller should generally be happy to receive such a noble guest.

He, being in the service of the French king, agrees to act as a courier on a very suspicious assignment to his main enemy. To be fair, I will say that all the intrigue on the cardinal’s part is not of a state, but of a personal nature, but d’Artagnan doesn’t know about it.

Inflamed with passion for my lady, and wanting to quickly achieve his goal, he seduces and uses her maid Katie, without thinking at all about her feelings. This, by the way, is due to his supposed love for Constance.

Well, the very penetration of Milady does not go through any gates at all; he gets there by deception, under the guise of Comte de Wardes. Moreover, he himself understands all the unseemlyness of his act, when the count’s son reproaches him for this, in his defense he can only mutter that he was young.

Athos. He loves his wife madly. But when he saw the mark on her shoulder during the hunt, he actually kills her, as I understand it was a miracle that she survived. Without allowing her to justify herself or explain anything. What if it's a mistake? What if she was convicted because of the dirty intrigues of the feudal lord who harassed her? What if there was no trial at all, and she was branded by her enemies? In fact, this is how it was, the Lille executioner branded her, so to speak, privately. It’s easy for us who know about her crimes to believe his words, but Athos doesn’t know about it.

Porthos. Everything here is generally fun. He sees the only way to succeed in life is to marry a rich widow much older than himself. Nowadays such people are called gigolos or gigolos and are condemned in polite society. But more than that, he begins to prepare for marriage with her while her husband is alive, looking forward to his death.

Aramis keeps a low profile in this novel, and we know little about his personal life. His character will be revealed in the sequels.

And all that remains is to be amazed at the talent of Dumas, who, using such unseemly material, created a masterpiece that will soon be read for two centuries.

10 of course.

Rating: 10

I have a lot of memories associated with this book, how times change, now it is in every bookstore and in several editions at once, or you don’t even have to go to the store, read it on the Internet. And I remember 1978, I was raving about this book, how I wanted to read it, and the library had an appointment for it almost a year in advance, but I waited several months, someone missed the turn. I remember how my hands shook when the librarian handed it to me, for me it was a treasure, because I knew that on its pages there was the clanking of swords, dizzying adventures, brave musketeers and their insidious enemies, the greatness of the French royal court, strong male friendship and passionate love. Now I have read this book several times, and on my bookshelves it is in several different editions and I, no, no, will pick it up and leaf through it.

Dumas is a great writer, “The Three Musketeers” is his great creation, I think that in a hundred and two hundred years, the same guys as I was will be reading this novel.

Rating: 10

So I decided to write my first review and it was not for nothing that I chose “The Three Musketeers”. In my early school years I did not like to read, but one day I don’t remember why, I decided to take up this work. And then something happened, from that moment to this day I love to read, but this book performed such a miracle. I have read The Three Musketeers several times since then and will read it again when nostalgia takes over. I can’t say anything bad about this work, and I can’t help but have positive emotions, because it has everything, good and evil, loyalty and betrayal, friendship and enmity, life and death, love and hate. The greatest work in the adventure genre.

Rating: 10

The King's Musketeers are something like the Life Guards of His Imperial Majesty. The elite of the army. But the appeal of the book is eternal times- is, of course, not determined by this.

Firstly, this is a magnificent example - one might say, a standard - of selfless male friendship, its, so to speak, literary ideal. “...One is for all, and all are for one...” It's fiercely romantic. No one has yet “surpassed”, so to speak.

Secondly, this is an outstanding example of the implementation of a “man of action”. To break loose at the first word - like hell, without a clear plan, without guarantees, on sheer enthusiasm, but with SUCH energy... You can’t help but like it. Everyone loves this, from unassuming teenagers to business sharks.

Thirdly - “hussar courtesy and ardor, hussar charm” - in matters of the heart, how could we do without it. Actually, this alone, in such and such a performance, is, as they say, more than enough...

Well, and - of course - bright, colorful types of heroes, this is generally beyond all praise.

In short, dear potential reader, if you haven’t joined yet, don’t think about it! MUST READ

Rating: 9

Lately I began to rethink many of the books that I read in childhood and adolescence, and the Three Musketeers did not escape a similar fate.

I won’t talk about historical accuracy, since this is still an adventure novel, let’s try to think about what is described in the book:

There seems to be a bad cardinal

There seems to be a good, albeit gullible, king

There seems to be a good queen

The good queen and king are helped by good musketeers, who try in every way to thwart the plans of the bad cardinal.

And now closer to reality:

A gullible king is an extremely bad ruler for the state; it simply cannot be worse.

The good queen gives the Duke of a HOSTILE (at least NOT FRIENDLY) state at that time her pendants, which implies that they were not just acquainted with the Duke....

So it turns out that the book is about 4 over-aged wizards (I’m talking about the musketeers, who, by the way, judging by the description, if you look closely at the details, also do not evoke sympathy) without a drop of brains, who in every way try to interfere and interfere with the ONLY person who is trying to save the country from disasters, yes yes I’m talking about Richelieu.

This is how things are, comrades....

Rating: no

It’s not the book that makes me want to cry, but the comments on this masterpiece of world literature. Until 1990, Alexander Dumas was the first of the first writers in the USSR, but then there were changes in moral, as well as sexual, and as a consequence of the whole collapse of the main thing, namely the complete breakdown of the spiritual orientation of the Russian. It’s just crazy to see that there are no comments on this book. In this wonderful book, the main central point is the slogan of the musketeers - ONE FOR ALL, AND ALL FOR ONE. Now I understand that Russian people no longer need it. Everyone is for himself, and everyone is against everyone. It's not offensive, but very, very scary.

Rating: 10

Yes, Dumas was not deprived of anything, but God did not lack imagination. Every now and then in the novel there are brilliant inventions (even, one might say, “gadgets”) that greatly decorate the plot, but do not fit into the logic of the narrative. “He is Dumas; he can." If the cardinal and the duke had not competed over the lady, but, as they should have, had been engaged in politics... If d'Artagnan had not defeated Monsieur de Jussac (the best swordsman in Paris, by the way), having just arrived and still not having had time to recover from the wounds inflicted on him by Rochefort... If all four musketeers had not loved their queen so much, and had not forgiven her for her quarrelsome disposition, as well as her tendency to flirt with just anyone (but she is a _queen_, par bleu!.. Again- Still, she can!..) If Count de la Fère had not been so drunk in his wedding night, and managed to feel under his wife’s shirt _that _most_ fatal mark...

The book would probably have benefited much more from plot coherence and plausibility. But... it would be a completely different book. And it is unknown whether generations of readers would have loved her or not. (Well, a modern fan of adventure/science fiction will say the same about Moffat and Doctor Who).

Unfortunately, the second and third volumes were much worse. “The Viscount” is rarely republished... and, in my opinion, deservedly so. There is no longer the dashing musketeer enthusiasm, but there are sentiments *and of the worst kind - courageous Athos suffers after losing his son, and does not even try to somehow hide it from his friends, he almost sobs out loud; Mousqueton reacts in the same way to the loss of his beloved master. That is, of course, they could feel all this - but bare their feelings in front of others?.. No, no. Our heroes have aged, what else can you say...*

But sequels are continuations, and “The Three Musketeers” will remain a book for all time. Even if it’s a “pop”, adventurous novel. Even if it is shallow, oversaturated with “action”... Despite everything, the novel is _good_ and this is a fact.

Rating: 8

One of those mysterious books that for some reason I couldn't read the first time. What’s strange is that she’s so wonderful! Orders and morals were unusual even for the author’s contemporaries, let alone for me, so sometimes I did not know how to evaluate certain actions. But overall I really liked everything.

D'Artagnan's comrades live as they want, not particularly striving for anything, they treat money lightly and are careful with friends. By the way, they are usually polite to their enemies, especially after their victory over them =) With one exception, but my lady is a woman , so it doesn’t count. And you involuntarily begin to think, why not live like that yourself?

Definitely a wonderful book. Particularly light and pleasant style of presentation.

Rating: 10

So much has been written about this novel that to add anything is simply to repeat someone’s words. One cannot raise one’s hand to scold him, because it is truly a masterpiece of world literature, which has long and firmly taken its place.

Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)

writing bad words will just get noticed, but I’m like this - against everyone. Glory to Herostratus.

But then I found one topic about which, if they wrote about it, it was only in passing. We all know the characters in the book; their names have already become household names. But there are also those about whom little is mentioned, but they pass and live literary life together with the main characters and sometimes the fate of the famous four depends on their actions. Of course you guessed it. Yes, I pay tribute to the memory of the servants: Planchet, Grimaud, Bazin, and Mousqueton. Those who are not noticeable, little known and unfamous, but who help and sometimes save the main characters. Those who quietly carry out their duties, and sometimes share the fate of their masters. And sometimes it’s a shame that when watching the next film adaptation, they are simply thrown out of the scripts, impoverishing the plot of the book and depriving the audience of many scenes, sometimes comical, and sometimes tragic, associated with these characters.

Rating: 10

“One for all and all for one - this is now our motto...”

I have long dreamed of meeting this undoubtedly great French writer, and finally the chance came. After a thorough search of my grandmother's “archives,” I found what I was looking for. To my great surprise, I read The Three Musketeers in 3 days, all rolled into one. So let's begin.

The first thing that immediately catches your eye is, of course, historical France of the 17th century. Periodic duels, endless gatherings in taverns, a constant lack of money, the life and customs of Parisians, a vivid description of the heroes themselves, court intrigues, big politics and pure love- all this French flavor presents to our attention a bright and clear picture of what is happening. Meanwhile, France is divided into two camps: in one, the king rules and the musketeers dominate, and in the other, Cardinal Richelieu rules with his guards. This opposition occupies one of the main places in the novel and undoubtedly maintains intrigue until its end.

Secondly, heroes. Four friends, four faithful comrades - Athos, Porthos, Aramis and, of course, d'Artagnan. Each has its own principles, each has its own unique character. D'Artagnan is an intelligent, brave, cunning and irresistible hero who came from Gascony to Paris in in search of fame and a brilliant career. He is ready to challenge the whole world and punish anyone who insults him. Porthos appears to us as a narrow-minded and boastful man, but nevertheless, Aramis is very popular with women - courageous, noble, but at the same time a little. -slightly sweet and even hypocritical. Athos, who puts honor above everything else, is “beautiful in body and soul,” but reserved and taciturn. They complement each other perfectly and personify an unbreakable partnership.

Thirdly, the plot. Not only is the novel written in easy and understandable language, but it also constantly keeps the reader in suspense. It would seem a standard beginning: a young ambitious man comes to a large city to pursue a career, in this case as a musketeer. Finds loyal friends and gradually, in small steps, moves towards achieving his goal. But distinguishing feature This novel is an abundance of events. D'Artagnan and his friends will take part in the investigation, "walk" to England for a "gift" to the queen, take part in the siege of the fortress, as well as in the defense of the bastion, and boast of love affairs. By the way, the romantic side is another plus of the novel. The abundance of feelings that permeate the novel, the abundance of thoughts of the characters make the writer a master of his craft.

The main characters of the book, if you think about it, are very dishonest people. They constantly engage in drunken brawls, kill people on far-fetched pretexts, and beat up servants (who, by the way, regularly risk their lives for them). But Dumas himself says that you can’t judge heroes historical works according to modern moral standards. They are who they are, the best representatives of the old nobility, still strong but already becoming obsolete. Arrogantly proud, desperately brave, ruthless in satisfying their momentary whims.

The book is about the era, and even though Dumas pretty much lied about historical facts, he conveyed the spirit of the time perfectly. A book about friendship, for the sake of which one gets involved in the craziest troubles without asking why it is necessary. A book about adventures.

A must read, at least to get acquainted with the classics of world literature. The main thing is not to discard modern ideas about good and evil for long, and you will feel the taste of Burgundy (by the way, the cheapest wine, they took it to get a cheap and quick drink), hear the neighing of horses and feel the hilt of a sword in your hand.

Rating: 10

Alexandre Dumas

where it is established that there is nothing mythological in the heroes of the story that we will have the honor of telling our readers, although their names end in “os” and “is”.

About a year ago, while doing research in the Royal Library for my history of Louis XIV, I accidentally came across the Memoirs of M. d'Artagnan, published - like most works of that time, when the authors, striving to tell the truth, did not want to go to more or less long term in the Bastille - in Amsterdam, at Pierre Rouge's. The title seduced me; I took these memoirs home, of course, with the permission of the library keeper, and greedily pounced on them.

I am not going to analyze this interesting work in detail here, but will only advise those of my readers who know how to appreciate paintings of the past to familiarize themselves with it. They will find in these memoirs portraits sketched by the hand of the master, and although these quick sketches are in most cases made on the doors of the barracks and on the walls of the tavern, readers will nevertheless recognize in them images of Louis XIII, Anne of Austria, Richelieu, Mazarin and many of his courtiers time, the images are as true as in the story of M. Anquetil.

But, as you know, the whimsical mind of a writer is sometimes excited by what is not noticed wide circles readers. Admiring, as no doubt others will admire, the merits of the memoirs already noted here, we were, however, most struck by one circumstance to which no one before us, probably, paid the slightest attention.

D'Artagnan says that when he first came to the captain of the royal musketeers, M. de Treville, he met in his reception room three young men who served in that famous regiment, where he himself sought the honor of being enlisted, and that their names were Athos, Porthos and Aramis.

We admit that the names, alien to our ears, struck us, and it immediately occurred to us that these were just pseudonyms under which d'Artagnan hid names, perhaps famous ones, unless the bearers of these nicknames chose them themselves on the day when, on a whim, , out of annoyance or out of poverty, they put on a simple musketeer cloak.

Since then, we have not known peace, trying to find in the writings of that time at least some trace of these extraordinary names, which aroused our keenest curiosity.

The list of books we read for this purpose alone would fill a whole chapter, which, perhaps, would be very instructive, but hardly entertaining for our readers. Therefore, we will only tell them that at that moment, when, having lost heart from such long and fruitless efforts, we had already decided to give up our research, we finally found, guided by the advice of our famous and learned friend Paulin Paris, a manuscript in folio, marked. N 4772 or 4773, we don’t remember exactly, and entitled:

"Memoirs of the Comte de La Fère of some events that occurred in France towards the end of the reign of King Louis XIII and at the beginning of the reign of King Louis XIV."

One can imagine how great was our joy when, turning the pages of this manuscript, our last hope, we discovered on the twentieth page the name of Athos, on the twenty-seventh the name of Porthos, and on the thirty-first page the name of Aramis.

The discovery of a completely unknown manuscript in an era when historical science had reached such a high degree of development seemed to us a miracle. We hastened to ask permission to print it, so that someday we could come with someone else’s luggage to the Academy of Inscriptions and Fine Literature, unless we succeed - which is very likely - to be accepted into the French Academy with our own.

Such permission, we consider it our duty to say this, was kindly given to us, which we note here in order to publicly expose the lies of ill-wishers who claim that the government under which we live is not very friendly to writers.

We now offer to the attention of our readers the first part of this precious manuscript, restoring its proper title, and we undertake, if this first part has the success it deserves and of which we have no doubt, to immediately publish the second.

In the meantime, since the recipient is the second father, we invite the reader to see in us, and not in the Count de La Fère, the source of his pleasure or boredom.

So, we move on to our story.

Chapter 1. THREE GIFTS OF MR D'ARTAGNANA THE FATHER

On the first Monday of April 1625, the entire population of the town of Menthe, where the author of the Roman of the Rose was once born, seemed excited as if the Huguenots were going to turn it into a second La Rochelle. Some of the townspeople, seeing women running towards the Main Street, and hearing the cries of children coming from the thresholds of the houses, hastily put on armor, armed themselves with a musket or a reed to give themselves a more courageous appearance, and rushed to the Free Miller Hotel, in front of which a dense and noisy crowd of curious people gathered, increasing every minute.

In those days, such unrest was a common occurrence, and it was rare that a city could not record such an event in its chronicles. Noble gentlemen fought with each other; the king was at war with the cardinal; The Spaniards were at war with the king. But, besides this struggle - sometimes secret, sometimes open, sometimes hidden, sometimes open - there were also thieves, beggars, Huguenots, tramps and servants who fought with everyone. The townspeople armed themselves against thieves, against vagabonds, against servants, often against the ruling nobles, from time to time against the king, but never against the cardinal or the Spaniards.

It was precisely because of this ingrained habit that on the aforementioned first Monday in April 1625, the townspeople, hearing a noise and not seeing either the yellow-red badges or the livery of the Duke de Richelieu’s servants, rushed to the Free Miller Hotel.

And only there the reason for the turmoil became clear to everyone.

A young man... Let's try to sketch his portrait: imagine Don Quixote at eighteen years old, Don Quixote without armor, without armor and legguards, in a woolen jacket, blue which acquired a shade intermediate between red and sky blue. Long dark face; prominent cheekbones are a sign of cunning; overdeveloped jaw muscles are an integral feature by which one can immediately identify a Gascon, even if he is not wearing a beret - and the young man was wearing a beret decorated with the likeness of a feather; open and intelligent look; the nose is hooked, but finely defined; height is too tall for a young man and insufficient for a mature man.

An inexperienced person might have mistaken him for a farmer's son setting off on a journey, were it not for the long sword on a leather belt, which beat against the legs of its owner when he walked, and ruffled the mane of his horse when he rode.

In April 1625, an eighteen-year-old guy named d’Artagnan from Alexandre Dumas’s “The Three Musketeers” arrived in the town of Meng on a red tailless gelding. Because of his appearance and behavior, everyone laughed at him. But this young man, like a true nobleman, did not pay attention to the ridicule of commoners. And when a rich man in black insulted him, the guy rushed at him with a sword. But townspeople with clubs run up to the gentleman in black and help him. When d’Artagnan woke up, he found neither the gentleman in black nor the letter with his father’s recommendations to his battle friend de Treville, who was the captain of the king’s musketeers. This letter contained a request to take the guy into military service.

The Royal Musketeers are the elite of the guard, they are brave and courageous. Therefore, all mistakes are forgiven. While d'Artagnan is waiting to meet de Treville, the captain scolds his favorite musketeers: Athos, Porthos and Aramis. De Treville gave the beating not for the fight between the musketeers and the guards of Cardinal Richelieu, but for the arrest of the entire trio.

The captain received the guy kindly. And suddenly d’Artagnan saw that gentleman in black outside the window, he grappled with him in Menge. The young man ran out into the street, hitting Athos, Porthos and Aramis in turn on the stairs, and they challenged him to a duel. And the gentleman in black left. The duel between d'Artagnan and the musketeers did not take place, but all four fought with Richelieu's guards. The three friends decided that the Gascon showed courage and was excellent with weapons, so they became friends with him.

The Cardinal informed His Majesty of the insolence of the musketeers. But Louis the Thirteenth was more interested in the person of d’Artagnan than in the behavior of the musketeers. Captain de Treville introduced d'Artagnan to the king, and he enlisted the guy in the guards service.

D'Artagnan settled in the house of the haberdasher Bonacieux. And since the bravery of the young man was talked about throughout Paris, Bonacieux asks for help, because his wife Constance was kidnapped. She served as chambermaid to Queen Anne of Austria, and the kidnapper was a gentleman in black. Moreover, the reason for the kidnapping was Constance’s closeness to the queen. The Duke of Buckingham, the queen's lover, arrived in Paris, and Madame Bonacieux could bring the cardinal to him. Her Majesty is in danger: the king has stopped loving her, Richelieu is pursuing her. He was so inflamed with passion for her, faithful people disappear, and she was also a Spanish woman who fell in love with an Englishman (England and Spain were the main political enemies of France). Then Bonacieux himself was kidnapped, and Buckingham was ambushed in the haberdasher's house.

And then at night the Gascon heard rustling sounds and a woman’s crying in the house. It was Constance, the girl escaped from custody and was ambushed in her home. D'Artagnan saved her and hid her in Athos's house.

The Gascon is watching Constance, and then he sees his beloved with a man dressed as a musketeer. It was Buckingham, whom the beauty leads to the Louvre to meet Anne of Austria. Constance told the young man about the love of the Duke and the Queen. D'Artagnan promises to protect Her Majesty, Buckingham and Constance herself. This conversation became their declaration of love for each other.

The Duke left France with a gift from the Queen - pendants with twelve diamonds. The cardinal found out about this and advised His Majesty to organize a ball, and for Anna of Austria to wear these pendants. Richelieu realized that this would disgrace the queen. He also sends Milady Winter’s agent to England to steal two pendants. Then the queen will not be able to justify herself. But D’Artagnan also went to England. Winter steals some of the pendants. But the Gascon returned to Paris before my lady with ten real pendants and two pendants, they were made by an English jeweler in just two days! Everything worked out well. Richelieu's plan failed. The queen was saved. D'Artagnan became a musketeer and received Madame Bonacieux's reciprocity. But the cardinal instructed Milady Winter to watch the Gascon.

This insidious woman creates trouble for the Gascon and at the same time makes him burn with a strange passion for her. At the same time, she seduces Count de Wardes, who, together with Winter, tried to prevent the young man from delivering the pendants to France. Milady's young maid, whose name is Katie, fell in love with the Gascon and told him about her mistress's letters to the count. D'Artagnan, disguised as de Wardes, went on a date with Winter. She didn’t recognize him in the dark and gave him a diamond ring. The young man told his friends about all this. But Athos saw the ring and became gloomy, as he recognized it as the heirloom of his family. He gave this ring to his wife, not yet knowing about her criminal past (theft and murder) and the mark on her shoulder. Soon the Gascon saw the same brand-lily on Milady Winter’s shoulder.

From that moment on, D'Artagnan became Winter's enemy, because he learned her secret. He did not kill Lord Wither (the brother of Milady's late husband and the uncle of her little son) in a duel, but only left him without weapons and made peace with him, although Milady wanted to take all the wealth of the Winter family for herself. Milady's plans also failed in relation to D'Artagnan and de Wardes. The woman's pride and the cardinal's ambition suffered greatly. Richelieu invited the young man to join the guards, but he refused. The cardinal warned the Gascon that he was depriving him of his patronage, so his life would henceforth be in danger.

While on vacation, D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers arrived in the vicinity of the port city of Larochelle. They were the “gateway” to France for the British. Richelieu sought to prevent them, but he wanted victory in order to take revenge on the Duke of Buckingham. But the Duke also needed this war for personal purposes. He wants to be a winner in France, not an envoy. English troops attack the fortress of Saint-Martin and Fort La Pré, and French troops attack Larochelle. And it's all because of Queen Anne.

Before the fight, D'Artagnan thinks about his life in Paris. He loves Constance and it’s mutual, but he doesn’t know where she is or if she’s alive. He serves in a musketeer regiment, but he has an enemy - a cardinal. Milady Winter hates him. And she will probably want to take revenge on him. He is patronized by the Queen of France, but for this he may be persecuted. The only thing the young man acquired was my lady’s expensive ring, but for Athos this is bitter.

By chance, three musketeers are in Richelieu's retinue during his walk at night near Larochelle. He came to meet Milady Winter. Athos heard their conversation. The Cardinal wants to send her to London to mediate during negotiations with the Duke of Beckinham. But these negotiations are not diplomatic, but ultimatum: the cardinal promises to publish documents that discredit the name of Anne of Austria (not only because love relationship with the Duke, but also as a conspirator against France), if Buckingham takes decisive military action. And if Buckingham does not agree, then my lady will have to persuade some fanatic to murder.

The Musketeers tell Buckingham and Lord Winter about this. Winter arrested her in London. And the security was entrusted to a Puritan, the young officer Felton. Milady Winter appears to be his co-religionist, who was allegedly seduced by the Duke, slandered and branded as a thief, and she suffers for her faith.

Felton helped my lady escape from custody. A captain he knew took the woman to Paris, and the officer himself killed Buckingham.

Milady is hiding in the convent of Bethune, and Maude Bonacieux is also hiding there. Winter poisoned Constance and escaped from the convent. But she was caught by the musketeers.

Milady Winter was put on trial in the forest at night. Because of her, Buckingham and Felton died, she killed Constance, tried to provoke the murder of de Wardes by d'Artagnan, her very first victim - a young priest who stole utensils from the church for her, committed suicide in hard labor, and his brother the executioner from Lille branded her, but my lady married the Comte de la Fere, deceiving him. Athos learned of the deception and hanged his wife from a tree. But the Countess was saved, and she again began to do evil under the name of Lady Winter. She gave birth to a son, poisoned her husband and received a decent inheritance, but she also wanted to take possession of the share of the brother of the husband she killed.

Having presented all these accusations to Milady, the musketeers and Lord Winter hand her over to the executioner from Lille. Athos pays them with gold in his wallet. But he threw it into the river because he wanted to avenge his brother. Three days later the musketeers arrived in Paris and came to de Treville. He asked if the friends had a good time on vacation, and Athos answered for everyone: “Incomparable!”

Alexandre Dumas

"The Three Musketeers"

On the first Monday of April 1625, the population of the town of Meung on the outskirts of Paris seemed excited as if the Huguenots had decided to turn it into a second fortress of Larochelle: a young man of eighteen years old rode into Meung on a chestnut gelding without a tail. His appearance, clothing and manners caused a flurry of ridicule in the crowd of townspeople. The horseman, however, does not pay attention to them, as befits a nobleman who considers it shameful to sort things out with commoners. Another thing is an insult inflicted by an equal: d’Artagnan (that’s the name of our hero) rushes with a naked sword at a noble gentleman in black; However, several townspeople with an oak tree come running to his aid. Having woken up, d’Artagnan finds neither the offender nor, which is much more serious, his father’s letter of recommendation to his old comrade, the captain of the royal musketeers, Mr. de Treville, with a request to appoint his son, who has reached the age of majority, for military service.

His Majesty's Musketeers are the color of the guard, people without fear or reproach, for which they get away with independent and reckless behavior. At that hour, when d’Artagnan is waiting to be received by de Treville, Mr. Captain inflicts another head-shaking (which, however, does not entail sad consequences) on his three favorites - Athos, Porthos and Aramis. De Treville, it should be noted, was outraged not by the fact that they started a fight with the guards of Cardinal Richelieu, but allowed themselves to be arrested... What a shame!

Talking with de Treville (who received the young d'Artagnan very kindly), the young man sees a stranger from Meng outside the window - and rushes headlong into the street, touching one by one on the stairs three musketeers. All three challenge him to a duel. The stranger in black manages to sneak away, but at the appointed hour Athos, Porthos and Aramis are waiting for d’Artagnan at the appointed place. Things take an unexpected turn; the swords of all four are drawn together against the omnipresent guards of the Duke of Richelieu. The musketeers are convinced that the young Gascon is not only a bully, but also a real brave man who wields weapons no worse than them, and they accept d’Artagnan into their company.

Richelieu complains to the king: the musketeers have become completely insolent. Louis XIII is more intrigued than upset. He wants to know who this unknown fourth person was, who was with Athos, Porthos and Aramis. De Treville introduces the Gascon to His Majesty - and the king enlists d'Artagnan to serve in his guard.

D'Artagnan, who is staying in his house, about whose valor rumors are already spreading throughout Paris, is approached by the haberdasher Bonacieux: yesterday his young wife, chambermaid to Her Majesty Queen Anne of Austria, was kidnapped. By all accounts, the kidnapper is a stranger from Meng. The reason for the kidnapping is not the charms of Madame Bonacieux, but her closeness to the queen: Lord Buckingham, lover of Anne of Austria, is in Paris. Madame Bonacieux can lead to his trail. The queen is in danger: the king has abandoned her, she is being pursued by Richelieu, who lusts after her, she is losing her faithful people one after another; in addition to everything (or above all), she is a Spaniard in love with an Englishman, and Spain and England are the main opponents of France in the political arena. Following Constance, Mr. Bonacieux himself was kidnapped; in their house a trap is set against Lord Buckingham or someone close to him.

One night, d'Artagnan hears commotion and muffled female cries in the house. It was Madame Bonacieux, who escaped from custody, who again fell into a mousetrap - now in her own home. D'Artagnan takes her away from Richelieu's people and hides her in Athos's apartment.

Watching all her exits into the city, he lies in wait for Constance in the company of a man in a musketeer uniform. Has his friend Athos really decided to take the saved beauty away from him? The jealous man quickly reconciles himself: Madame Bonacieux's companion is Lord Buckingham, whom she takes to the Louvre on a date with the queen. Constance initiates d'Artagnan into the secrets of her mistress's heart. He promises to protect the queen and Buckingham as herself; this conversation becomes their declaration of love.

Buckingham leaves Paris, taking away Queen Anne's gift - twelve diamond pendants. Having learned about this, Richelieu advises the king to organize a big ball, to which the queen should appear in pendants - those that are now kept in London, in Buckingham's box. He foresees the shame of the queen who rejected his claims - and sends one of his best secret agents, Milady Winter, to England: she must steal two pendants from Buckingham - even if the other ten miraculously return to Paris for the big ball, the cardinal will be able to prove the queen’s fault. Racing with Milady Winter, d'Artagnan rushes to England. Milady succeeds in what the cardinal entrusted to her; however, time is on d’Artagnan’s side - and he delivers ten pendants of the queen and two more exactly the same, made by a London jeweler in less than two days, to the Louvre! The cardinal is put to shame, the queen is saved, d’Artagnan is accepted into the Musketeers and rewarded with the love of Constance. There are, however, losses: Richelieu learns about the valor of the newly minted musketeer and entrusts the treacherous Milady Winter to take care of him.

Weaving intrigues against d’Artagnan and instilling in him a strong and contradictory passion, my lady at the same time seduces the Comte de Wardes, a man who interfered with the Gascon on his journey to London, sent by the cardinal to help my lady. Katie, my lady's maid, being crazy about the young musketeer, shows him her mistress's letters to de Ward. D'Artagnan, under the guise of Comte de Wardes, comes on a date with Milady and, unrecognized by her in the dark, receives a diamond ring as a sign of love. D'Artagnan hastens to present his adventure to his friends as a funny joke; Athos, however, becomes gloomy at the sight of the ring. Milady's ring evokes a painful memory in him. This is a family jewel, given by him on the night of love to the one whom he revered as an angel and who, in reality, was a branded criminal, a thief and a murderer who broke the heart of Athos. Athos’s story is soon confirmed: on Milady’s bare shoulder, her ardent lover d’Artagnan notices a brand in the form of a lily - a seal of eternal shame.

From now on he is my lady's enemy. He is privy to her secret. He refused to kill Lord Winter in a duel - he only disarmed him, after which he reconciled with him (the brother of her late husband and the uncle of her little son) - but she has long been striving to take possession of the entire Winter fortune! Milady’s plan to pit d’Artagnan against de Bard did not work out either. Milady's pride is wounded, but so is Richelieu's ambition. Having invited d’Artagnan to serve in his guards regiment and having been refused, the cardinal warns the young impudent man: “From the moment you lose my patronage, no one will give a penny for your life!”...

A soldier's place is in war. Taking a vacation from de Treville, d'Artagnan and his three friends set off for the outskirts of Larochelle, a port city that opened the gates to the French borders for the British. By closing them for England, Cardinal Richelieu completes the work of Joan of Arc and the Duke of Guise. Victory over England for Richelieu is not so much about ridding the king of France from the enemy, but about taking revenge on a more successful rival in love for the queen. Buckingham is the same: in this military campaign he seeks to satisfy personal ambitions. He prefers to return to Paris not as an envoy, but as a triumphant. The real stake in this bloody game played by the two most powerful powers is the favorable glance of Anne of Austria. The British besiege the fortress of Saint-Martin and Fort La Pré, the French - La Rochelle.

Before his baptism of fire, d’Artagnan sums up the results of his two-year stay in the capital. He is in love and loved - but does not know where his Constance is and whether she is even alive. He became a musketeer - but has an enemy in Richelieu. He has many extraordinary adventures behind him - but also the hatred of Milady, who will not miss an opportunity to take revenge on him. He is marked by the queen's patronage - but this is poor protection, rather a reason for persecution... His only unconditional acquisition is a ring with a diamond, the shine of which, however, is overshadowed by the bitter memories of Athos.

By chance, Athos, Porthos and Aramis accompany the cardinal on his night walk incognito in the vicinity of Larochelle. Athos, in the Red Dovecote tavern, hears the cardinal’s conversation with Milady (it was Richelieu who was traveling to meet her, guarded by musketeers). He sends her to London as a mediator in negotiations with Buckingham. The negotiations, however, are not entirely diplomatic: Richelieu presents his opponent with an ultimatum. If Buckingham dares to take a decisive step in the current military confrontation, the cardinal promises to make public documents discrediting the queen - evidence not only of her favor towards the duke, but also of her collusion with the enemies of France. “What if Buckingham gets stubborn?” - asks my lady. - “In this case, as has happened more than once in history, political scene a femme fatale must appear who will put a dagger in the hand of some murderous fanatic...” Milady perfectly understands Richelieu’s hint. Well, she is just such a woman!.. Having accomplished an unheard of feat - having dined on a bet on a bastion open to the enemy, repelling several powerful attacks of the Larochelles and returning to the army unharmed - the musketeers warn the Duke of Buckingham and Lord Winter about Milady's mission. Winter manages to arrest her in London. The young officer Felton is entrusted with protecting my lady. Milady learns that her guard is a Puritan. She is called his co-religionist, allegedly seduced by Buckingham, slandered and branded as a thief, while in reality she suffers for her faith. Felton is completely smitten by my lady. His religiosity and strict discipline have made him a man inaccessible to ordinary seductions. But the story told to him by my lady shook his hostility towards her, and with her beauty and ostentatious piety she won his pure heart, Felton helps Milady Winter escape. He instructs a captain he knows to deliver the unfortunate captive to Paris, and he himself infiltrates the Duke of Buckingham, whom - in fulfillment of Richelieu's script - he kills with a dagger.

Milady is hiding in the Carmelite monastery in Bethune, where Constance Bonacieux lives. Having learned that d'Artagnan is supposed to appear here any hour, Milady poisons the beloved of her main enemy and flees. But she fails to escape retribution: musketeers are rushing in her wake.

At night, in a dark forest, Milady's trial is being held. She is responsible for the death of Buckingham and Felton, who was seduced by her. She is responsible for the death of Constance and the incitement of d'Artagnan to the murder of de Wardes. Another one - her very first victim - was a young priest seduced by her, whom she persuaded to steal church utensils. Condemned to hard labor for this, the shepherd of God committed suicide. His brother, the executioner from Lille, made it his life's goal to take revenge on my lady. Once he had already overtaken her and branded her, but the criminal then hid in the castle of Count de la Fer - Athos and, keeping silent about the ill-fated past, married him. Having accidentally discovered the deception, Athos, in a rage, committed lynching on his wife: he hanged her from a tree. Fate gave her another chance: Countess de la Fere was saved, and she returned to life and her vile deeds under the name Lady Winter. Having given birth to a son, Milady poisoned Winter and received a rich inheritance; but this was not enough for her, and she dreamed of a share belonging to her brother-in-law.

Having presented her with all the listed charges, the musketeers and Winter entrust Milady to the Lille executioner. Athos gives him a purse of gold - payment for hard work, but he throws the gold into the river: “Today I am not performing my craft, but my duty.” IN moonlight the blade of his wide sword shines... Three days later, the musketeers return to Paris and present themselves to their captain de Treville. “Well, gentlemen,” the brave captain asks them. “Did you have fun on your vacation?” - “Incomparable!” - Athos is responsible for himself and for his friends.

A young man rode into the excited town of Meng on a red gelding without a tail. His appearance caused a lot of ridicule among the people, but they do not pay attention to them, except for one gentleman in black, d'Artagnan attacks him and loses consciousness in a skirmish, and when he wakes up, he realizes that he has lost his father's letter of recommendation to his comrade in arms, Mr. Well, de Treville, to assign him to the service.

De Treville talks with young d'Artagnan, who abruptly rushes into the street after seeing a man in black on the street, hitting 3 musketeers in the process. They challenge him to fights, in which they agree that the young bully is excellent with weapons and accept him. And then the king accepts d’Artagnan into his guard.

D'Artagnan learns from the haberdasher Bonacieux that his young wife, close to Her Majesty, has been kidnapped. And the kidnapper is a stranger from Meng. Madame Bonacieux can help find Lord Buckingham. The queen has been abandoned by the king, is being pursued by Richelieu, and she is also a Spaniard who is in love with an Englishman, and the countries are enemies of France. Bonacieux is also kidnapped.

D'Artagnan hears faint female cries at night. It turns out that it was Ms. Bonacieux, who escaped from custody, who fell into a mousetrap in her own house. D'Artagnan protects her and hides her with Athos.

Seeing Constance in the company of a musketeer, the jealous man thinks that it is Athos, but it is Lord Buckingham, she leads him to a meeting with the queen. Now d'Artagnan knows everything and promises to protect both the queen and Buckingham.

Buckingham leaves Paris with 12 diamond pendants. Richelieu found out about this and advises the king to organize a special ball, and the queen should wear pendants. He also sends Milady Winter to steal two pendants, and if ten are returned, he will be able to prove the queen’s dissipation. Milady Winter manages to complete the order, and d'Artagnan delivers 10 pendants of the queen and 2 made to order! The cardinal is disgraced, and the queen is saved, d’Artagnan becomes a musketeer and gives Constance his love. And Richelieu sniffs out everything and orders Milady Winter to take care of the musketeer.

Having instilled passion in d'Artagnan, Milady also seduces the Comte de Wardes, sent by Richelieu to help Milady. And Milady’s maid shows the musketeer the mistress’s letters to the Count de Ward. D'Artagnan receives a diamond ring from Milady and learns that she is Athos's former lover, who broke his heart, and also the one who turned out to be branded a criminal.

Now he knows her secret. He doesn't kill Lord Winter in a duel, but she wants to take possession of the Winter fortune! Also, the plan to pit the musketeer against de Bard did not work out. Richelieu invites d'Artagnan to serve with him and is refused; Richelieu's ambition is wounded.

The musketeers go to the port city of Larochelle, which opens the way for the British to France. Cardinal Richelieu closed them, and thereby took revenge on his most successful rival in loyalty to the queen. Buckingham also tries to satisfy his ambitions, preferring to return to Paris triumphant. The decisive moment in the battle is the favorable glance of Anna of Austria. The British capture the fortress of Saint-Martin, as well as Fort La Pré, and the French capture La Rochelle.

Before the battle, d'Artagnan recalls the results of his stay in the capital. He loves, but does not know where Constance is. He is now a musketeer - but there is an enemy of Richelieu. Extraordinary Adventures brought him my lady's hatred. He is under the patronage of the queen - but as a result of this he is constantly persecuted... But there is a ring with a diamond, the shine of which is overshadowed by the bad memories of Athos.