Here we go! Tomorrow we begin the final book of the 2021 Chapter-a-Day Read-along and the first book of the 2022 Chapter-a-Day Read-along: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. There’s not much to prepare for in getting ready for the The Three Musketeers except to buckle up and get ready for a wild ride! Try to put any preconceived notions aside, tuck away any memories you have of movies or TV shows you may have seen, and simply let yourself sink into the prose of Dumas’ historical fiction.

It may be helpful to know that the story begins in the small town of Meung, France “on the first Monday of April, 1625,” and King Louis XIII is on the throne, married to Queen Anne of Austria. The king’s chief minister is the powerful and canny Cardinal Richelieu, also known as “the Red Eminence,” from the color of his robes.

Though the characters of D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis are based on real people, they have been elevated to mythic proportions by the pen of Dumas, and some of them have had their lives entirely invented based on their names. Still, the story has provided entertainment to people of all ages and eras, and I so look forward to reading it again.

Enjoy this first book of the D’Artagnan series and I look forward to seeing your favorite quotes posted on Twitter with the hashtag #musketeerreadalong!

King Louis XIII of France:

Anne of Austria, Queen of France:

Cardinal Richelieu, the king’s chief minister:

M. de Tréville, Captain of the Musketeers:

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham: