Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: The Count of Monte Cristo (abridged) Author: Alexandre Dumas ISBN: 0-553-21350-4 Publisher: Bantam Classics Type of book: Revenge, generations, sea, Chateau D'if, unjust imprisonment, god, control, wealth, 1815-1840s? Year it was published: 1844 (version I have 1956) Summary: Set against the turbulent years of the Napoleonic era, Alexandre Dumas's thrilling adventure story is one of the most widely read romantic novels of all time. In it the dashing young hero, Edmond Dantes, is betrayed by his enemies and thrown into a secret dungeon in the Chateau d'If- doomed to spend his life in a dank prison cell. The story of his long, intolerable years in captivity, his miraculous escape, and his carefully wrought revenge creates a dramatic tale of mystery and intrigue and paints a vision of France- a dazzling, dueling, exuberant France- that has become immortal. Characters: I found the characters to be flat, besides Edmond Dantes, but I think for...

Name of Book: The Man in the iron mask Author: Alexandre Dumas ISBN: 0-812-56499-5 Publisher: TOR Part of a Series: D'Artagnan Romances Type of book: France, 1660s-1670s, Louis XIV, friendship, Year it was published: Version I have 1998 (Original version in France 1847-1850) Summary: "You are about to hear," said Aramis, "an account which few could now give; for it refers to a secret which they buried with the dead..." So begins the magnificent concluding story of the swashbuckling Musketeers, Aramis, Athos, Porthos and D'Artagnant. Aramis- plotting against the King of France-bribes his way into the jail cells of the Bastille where a certain prisoner has been entombed for eight long years. The prisoner knows neither his real name nor the crime he has committed. But Aramis knows the secret of the prisoner's identity...a secret so dangerous that its revelation could topple the King from his throne! Aramis...plotting against t...

Name of book: Louise de la Valliere Part II Author Name: Alexandre Dumas ISBN: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/ Publisher: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/ Part of Series: D'Artagnan Series by Alexandre Dumas Sequel to Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, Vicomte de Bragelonne, prequel to The Man in iron mask Type of book: Adult, French, 17th century, Louis XIV Year it was published: (Original version in France 1847-1850) Summary: In the Musketeers' final adventure, D'Artagnan remains in the service of the corrupt King Louis XIV after the Three Musketeers have retired and gone their separate ways. Meanwhile, a mysterious prisoner in an iron mask wastes away deep inside the Bastille. When the destinies of king and prisoner converge, the Three Musketeers and D'Artagnan find themselves caught between conflicting loyalties. (from Goodreads Man in Iron Mask) Characters: Good news is that this part has more Three Musketeers sightings, so of course it...

Name of book: Louise de la Valliere Author Name: Alexandre Dumas ISBN: 0-19-282389-2 Publisher: Oxford Part of Series: D'Artagnan Series by Alexandre Dumas Sequel to Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, Vicomte de Bragelonne, prequel to The Man in iron mask Type of book: Adult, French, 17th century, Louis XIV Year it was published: this version 1995 (Original version in France 1847-1850) Summary: Louise de la Valliere is the middle section of the Vicomte de Bragelonne, or Ten Years After. Against a tender love story, Dumas continues the suspense which began with The Vicomte de Bragelonne and will end with The Man in the Iron Mask. It is early summer, 1661, and the royal court of France is in turmoil. Can it be true that the king is in love with the Duchess D'Orleans? Or has his eye been caught by the sweet and gentle Louise de la Valliere? No one is more anxious to know the answer than Raoul, son of Athos, who loves Louise more than life itself. Behind th...

Slow River Name of book: Vicomte de Bragelonne Author name: Alexandre Dumas ISBN: 978-0-19-283463-8 Publisher: Oxford Type of book: Adult or young adult, historical, one of French classics, 17th century, Louis XIV Year it was published in: 1995 (originally was from 1847-1850?) Part of a series: D'Artagnan Romances Summary: It is May 1660 and the fate of nations is at stake. Mazarin plots, Louis XIV is in love, and Raoul de Bragelonne, son of Athos, is intent on serving France and winning the heart of Louise de la Valliere. D’Artagnan, meanwhile is perplexed by a mysterious stranger, and soon he learns that his old comrades already have great projects in hand. Athos seeks the restoration of Charles II, while Aramis, with Porthos in tow, has a secret plan involving a masked stranger and the fortification of the island of Belle-Ile. D’Artagnan finds a thread leading him to the French court, the banks of the Tyne, the beaches of Holland, and t...

Name of Book: Twenty Years After Author: Alexandre Dumas ISBN: 0-7607-9112-0 or 978-0-7607-9112-7 Publisher: Barnes and Noble Type of Book: Young adult-adult, France, historical, 17th century, one of French classics? Year it was published: (Original in 1845 in French, this version 2008) Part of a series: D'Artagnan Romances Summary: Twenty Years After (1845) resumes the adventures of Alexandre Dumas’ fabulous four begun in The Three Musketeers. “The Inseparables”-Athos, Porthos, Aramis and the irrepressible Gascon d’Artagnan-are once again called upon to save France from itself. This time, the paragons of honor, chivalry, and justice find themselves embroiled not only in court intrigue and royal affairs (including the Queen’s illicit liaison with her first minister, Cardinal Mazarin) but also popular revolution. The novel is set during the minority of King Louis XIV; the English Revolution is about to reach its climax in the execution of Char...

Fast Paced Novel Name of Book: The Three Musketeers Author: Alexandre Dumas ISBN: 1-885326-040-1 Publisher: Wordsworth Classics Type of Book: Young adult-adult, French classic, 16th century, Louis XIII Year it was published: (Original in 1844 in French, this version 1993) Part of a series: D'Artagnan Romances Summary: The Three Musketeers is one of the most celebrated historical romances ever written. It tells of the adventures of the hot-headed young Gascon, d’Artagnan, and his three companions Athos, Porthos and Aramis. In their gallant defence of the Queen of France, Anne of Austria, they pit their wits and their swords against the machinations and men of that archetypal eminence grise, Cardinal Richlieu, as he schemes to hold on to his political influence over King Louis XIII. Their swashbuckling adventures take them from the high fashion of the French Court to the murkier aspects of espionage on either side of the Channel in a thr...