The Three Musketeers - Reading Schedule - Question!

[Robin P, Moderator]

Thanks to everyone for pointing out that I had the wrong number of chapters. It is 67 plus epilogue. So we can read 5 chapters a week, approx. 30-50 pages, depending on your edition. Dumas is a fast read, having relatively little description or philosophy but a lot of conversation and action. All editions should have the same 67 chapters. If anyone finds a discrepancy, let us know.

Aug 30- Sep 6 - Introduction and Ch 1-5
Sep 7-13 - Ch 6-10
Sep 13- 19 - Ch 11-15
Sep 20-26 - Ch 16-20
Sep 27-Oct 3 - Ch 21-25
Oct 4- 10 - Ch 26-30
Oct 11-17 - Ch 31-35
Oct 18-24 - Ch 36-40
Oct 25-31 - Ch 41-45
Nov 1 -7 - Ch 46-50
Nov 8-14 - Ch 51-55
Nov 15-21 - Ch 56-60
Nov 22-28 - Ch 61-end

[Anne]

My copy has 67 chapters and an epilogue, so there may be a discrepancy between editions. My copy is marked "complete and unabridged" on the cover.

I am very excited to read this book again. It is one of my favorites. The translation can greatly affect the level of enjoyment, so I always recommend trying a different translation before giving up if you're not enjoying it or having a hard time following the action. It's supposed to be fast-paced and laugh-out-loud funny, but some translators failed to capture the tone (I got stuck with a bad one once, so I know).

[Anne]

That's weird. I have 3 versions (a copy of the 1st English translation, an abridged copy inherited from my grandpa, and the modern translation I prefer), and they all have 67 and an epilogue. That is really strange.

[Robin P, Moderator]

I apologize! I must have read the Roman numerals wrong. I should have double checked. Thank you, Anne, for alerting me!

I have changed the schedule above and adjusted to 5 chapters per week. I also deleted a couple of my comments to reduce confusion.

I should have known you were right as you share the name of the revered queen of the Musketeers, Anne of Austria.

[Anne]

Robin P wrote: "I apologize! I must have read the Roman numerals wrong. I should have double checked. Thank you, Anne, for alerting me!

I have changed the schedule above and adjusted to 5 chapters per week. I also deleted a couple of my comments to reduce confusion. I should have known you were right as you share the name of the revered queen of the Musketeers, Anne of Austria."

Happy to help! I was baffled how they could be so different. I thought I was going crazy, so I rechecked with the other editions. My modern edition has them in Arabic numerals, so I knew I wasn't reading it incorrectly.

I was named after Princess Anne of England rather than Queen Anne of Austria (according to my baby book), but I'll take it. There have been a lot of famous Annes in history, so it is nice to be associated with one of the nicer ones (Anne of Austria) rather than the ugly, fat, and/or smelly ones.

[Linda2]

Then there was the one who was divorced by Henry VIII, but kept her head; and the one who didn't.

[Francis]

Thank you Robin for posting this schedule and the other posts related to this read. They are greatly appreciated.

[Robin P, Moderator]

As we approach the end of The Three Musketeers, we should decide which book to read next. I may have dismissed The Red Sphinx: A Sequel to The Three Musketeers too quickly. Although it wasn't translated until recently, it does follow chronologically as the 2nd volume. The musketeers don't appear, but Richelieu does. The book itself was never finished (or apparently edited). The only translation I am aware of is the one by Ellsworth. This could make it challenging for everyone to obtain. In lieu of an end to The Red Sphinx, Ellsworth sticks on a separate story by Dumas which supposedly is related to the characters, but that story, The Dove, is totally different in tone and style.

The alternative is to move on to Twenty Years After, which has also been translated by Ellsworth but is available in many editions.

What are your preferences?

[Ana]

20 years after

[Frances, Moderator]

I'd prefer Twenty Years After as well.

[Anne]

20 Years After. I do own The Red Sphinx, but I'd rather read this unfinished work after reading the completed works.

[Gilbert]

I read The Red Sphinx: A Sequel to The Three Musketeers last year. Not as good as the first of the D'Artagnan romances, but, there are some good sections, and one most amusing.
So I would pick Twenty Years After.

[Lori, Moderator]

I thought The Red Sphinx sounded interesting as it's one I haven't read from this series - until I saw the length. I'm not sure I'd want to spend 800 pages on the cardinal, without the musketeers!

[Robin P, Moderator]

Ok, great, my preference is also for 20 Years After, but I didn't want to force it on the group. I think the accessibility of the book is an issue. I also liked some sections of The Red Sphinx but am not sure if the book as a whole is worth all those pages.

[Jim]

I vote for Twenty Years After. By the way, do you count The Son of Porthos as belonging to the series?

[Archi]

My preference is also 20 years after ...

[Robin P, Moderator]

Jim wrote: "I vote for Twenty Years After. By the way, do you count The Son of Porthos as belonging to the series?"

I had never heard of that, thanks for the question! I was just looking it up, and it seems it was written under Dumas' name by one of his collaborators in the 1880's, that is, after Dumas' death. It's true that he used collaborators (he was the James Patterson of his day), so this author could have known Dumas' style. But it's a bit like writers who wrote about Sherlock Holmes after Conan Doyle was dead. It's not generally considered part of the series.

Copyright was a lot looser in the 19th century, something that Dickens struggled with. Using the famous characters was a great marketing idea by the writer - reminds me of movie sequels such as "Son of Frankenstein". It looks like the book isn't widely available except through online resources like Google or Gutenberg.