The Three Musketeers

Alexandre Dumas' other classic novel. The Three Musketeers is, by-and-large, completely different from the movies i had seen. It is set much earlier in the lives of the four heroes and begins with d'Artagnan's journey from his country life in Gascony to his, eventual, leadership role within the Musketeers.

Being a complete history nerd, I absolutely love the fact that Dumas uses historically accurate people and events throughout the novel that our heroes (d'Artagnan, who is a real historic figure, Athos, Porthos and Aramis who are all fictional) are faced with.

This is an extremely well written book that explores the topics of friendship, love, loyalty, honour, pride and revenge.

First published in English in 1846 this book also highlights the sexist nature of the time and the periods leading up to that (it is set in the early 17th Century). Many times a female narrator is often complaining how it is unfortunate she is a woman else she'd be able to undertake some task that she can otherwise not do.

Overall it's a light-hearted and entertaining read that I would say is no essential, but if there is nothing else on the bookshelf on a rainy day then don't hesitate to pick it up.