I do not have favourites as I find the idea too limiting. People who do have favourites tend not to try new things, whereas I like to make new discoveries. With books I do have a small selection that I enjoy reading more than once and one of those is The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.

I expect that most people have an idea of the story of D’Artangan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis that is actually gleaned from the many film and occasional television adaptations of the novel rather than having read the book. This is not a criticism but an observation as I certainly first me the musketeers in film. As with many such transitions few of these adaptations succeeded in being respectful to the source material, apart from the 1973 version directed by Richard Lester, which not only proved loyal to the full story but also captured the spirit of the tale.

When it was published in 1844, Dumas set a benchmark for the stirring adventure tale. It established many of the tropes that are still present in both books and films, such as, the young adventurer, the older mentor, the long journey to a distant land, romance, comedy, and plenty of action. D’Artagnan follows the hero’s journey, developing as he goes from a naive country gentleman to an experienced soldier and political intriguer. What many people who have not read the book might be unaware of is that D’Artagnan is not wholly a hero. He is not loyal to the women in his life and makes some rather ill-advised, if not dangerous, choices in that respect. He comes close to losing the friendship of his comrades over one such woman and is even tempted by Cardinal Richelieu into switching sides. Dumas writes his characters with affection and not a little romance but, unlike his contemporaries, he also wrote them with their failings too. Athos is so consumed by a cold hate that he subverts a legal warrant obtained by D’Artagnan from the Cardinal to achieve his revenge on an old enemy. It is one of the dark moments in the book that rarely appears in media adaptations and yet it gives the story a touch of realism that so many other tales of this kind lack.

Another aspect of the novel is that it is actually written in two parts; the first is The Three Musketeers in which D’Artangan strives to qualify as a member of the regiment, and the second is The Four Musketeers, where events take a darker turn, featuring murder, executions, and assassinations. Most films stick to the lighter first part for some reason.

The Three Musketeers has proven an evergreen story. The book has sold in its millions and been translated into many languages. Over sixty films have been made based upon the main characters if not all of the story that Dumas wrote. I believe that the central idea of friendship in adversity is as popular today as it was in Dumas 19th century or D’Artangan’s 17th century. We are still beset by wars, unpopular politics, religious intolerance, and class struggles. It might surprise Alexandre Dumas to know that his most famous work is still as relevant today as when he wrote it.