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Product Description
One of France's best-selling writers at the time of the novel's composition, Dumas here combines what he considered to be life's essentials - `l'action et l'amour'. This historical romance is the climax of his epic of chivalry and valour that began with The Three Musketeers, and it is here that Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and their friend d'Artagnan, once invincible, meet their destinies. This edition provides background information and notes crucial to an understanding of the legend and the novel's setting.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thought I should give a five star review to redress the current (unfair) one star rating for this book.
As far as I can see, Amazon has published two reviews which criticise the translation of the Penguin edition of The Man in the Iron Mask. However, the book listed on this page is the new Oxford World Classics translation. I know that the previous reviewers' comments are valid (I also have a copy of the Penguin version of The Man in the Iron Mask, and it doesn't read very well) - but they are not applicable to the book you can buy on this page. The Oxford edition available here is an excellent translation, and is highly enjoyable!
As far as reading the book is concerned, I would recommend reading the entire Dumas cycle of five musketeer novels in order (each of the volumes tends to start immediately from the quite abrupt ending of the previous one, so if you start with The Man in the Iron Mask - the last novel in the cycle - you are rather thrown in at the deep end!). Only two of the five books are well known, but the order is:
1) The Three Musketeers
2) Twenty Years After
3) The Vicomte de Bragelonne
4) Louise de la Valliere
5) The Man in the Iron Mask
(Technically, there are really only three books - 3, 4 and 5 above are intended to be a single (massive!) novel, which gives you some idea of how strange the start of this book will be if you haven't read the first two parts of it)
As far as I can see, Amazon has published two reviews which criticise the translation of the Penguin edition of The Man in the Iron Mask. However, the book listed on this page is the new Oxford World Classics translation. I know that the previous reviewers' comments are valid (I also have a copy of the Penguin version of The Man in the Iron Mask, and it doesn't read very well) - but they are not applicable to the book you can buy on this page. The Oxford edition available here is an excellent translation, and is highly enjoyable!
As far as reading the book is concerned, I would recommend reading the entire Dumas cycle of five musketeer novels in order (each of the volumes tends to start immediately from the quite abrupt ending of the previous one, so if you start with The Man in the Iron Mask - the last novel in the cycle - you are rather thrown in at the deep end!). Only two of the five books are well known, but the order is:
1) The Three Musketeers
2) Twenty Years After
3) The Vicomte de Bragelonne
4) Louise de la Valliere
5) The Man in the Iron Mask
(Technically, there are really only three books - 3, 4 and 5 above are intended to be a single (massive!) novel, which gives you some idea of how strange the start of this book will be if you haven't read the first two parts of it)
Format:Paperback
This is the final book in the cycle of novels by Alexander Dumas about the Three Musketeers. I have only read this book and the first of the novels, the eponymously named The Three Musketeers. This book starts incredibly abruptly and you are left wondering if you have missed something vital. I reread the first chapter several times to try and make sense of it, but it turns out that this book begins immediately where it's forerunner ends. Once you are past the first chapter you can manage well enough without reading the others, although I am going to hunt them down and read them because I am fairly anally retentive about filling in the gaps.
The book purports to be an adventure story about the intrigue around a usurper to the French throne and the involvement of the musketeers in the plot. It is, but only very thinly. This is, to my mind, a much more philosophical work than the Three Musketeers. It is quite dark and sombre, and Dumas uses it to look at how power works and what happens when it shifts, and what happens to men of action and adventure when they get old, become detached from the times in which they live and struggle to find their place in the world. It was a fascinating book.
The book purports to be an adventure story about the intrigue around a usurper to the French throne and the involvement of the musketeers in the plot. It is, but only very thinly. This is, to my mind, a much more philosophical work than the Three Musketeers. It is quite dark and sombre, and Dumas uses it to look at how power works and what happens when it shifts, and what happens to men of action and adventure when they get old, become detached from the times in which they live and struggle to find their place in the world. It was a fascinating book.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
19 reviews
94 of 96 people found the following review helpful
Start at the start
8 Dec 2009
Format:Paperback
If you read the entire d'Artagnan Romances(THE THREE MUSKETEERS, TWENTY YEARS AFTER, THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE, LOUISE DE LA VALLIER, THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK), you'll probably feel you've had one of the great reading experiences of your life. If you only read THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK, you'll probably think you've wasted your time. That's because THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK is the third part of THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE, which itself is the third part of the d'Artagnan Romances. DON'T START AT THE END!!! The title "THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK" is so popular that even scholarly publishers like Oxford cash in by selling it WITHOUT TELLING YOU IT'S THE END OF A STORY. To read it by itself is like reading THE RETURN OF THE KING without THE HOBBIT, THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING and THE TWO TOWERS, or only book 7 of HARRY POTTER(I'm just trying to think of popular examples). Start with THE THREE MUSKETEERS, and if you like it, work through the series, whose richness always depends on what came before. The story of the man in the iron mask is one of many subplots in a much larger story, so coming into it from scratch, you might be upset if there are few pages devoted to him. So here's how it goes: THE THREE MUSKETEERS is part 1, TWENTY YEARS AFTER is part 2, and THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE is part 3, but it's a massive part 3, divided into 3 books(in the original French, it's one mega-book, but it got divided in English translation): THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE, LOUISE DE LA VALLIER, and THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK. I repeat my first sentance: If you read the entire d'Artagnan Romances, you'll probably feel you've had one of the great reading experiences of your life.
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Forget the movie, read the book!!
9 April 2008
Format:Paperback
Oh wow, what a great end to an incredible ride, the story of the Musketeers. I haven't been so engrossed in a series of books since I picked up Diana Gabaldon's Outlander. Athos, Raoul, Porthos, Aramis and of course D'Artagnan are going to be in my thoughts and dreams for some time, I hate to let them go.
If you are expecting the story as told by Hollywood, forget it. While I haven't seen the latest version with Leonardo DiCaprio (forgive me if I spell it wrong), I looked at the reader reviews and was quite surprised at how different the book is from Hollywood's version. I also recall a movie done in the late 70's/80's that is nothing like the book as well. I would pick it apart point by point, but that would include spoilers. The Man in the Iron Mask is actually the last third of a huge novel by Dumas originally titled The Vicomte de Bragelonne. Because of the size of the book, English publishers have divided into three books, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask.
Suffice it to say that TMITIM is the final chapter of our heroic Musketeers, as well as Raoul, the son of Athos. While we all know the story of Louis XIV's twin and the plot to substitute him, that is a minor part of the whole story, as the action then becomes centered on the aftermath of that plot and Louis' revenge. It has been a grand, glorious ride reading this series, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere and The Man In the Iron Mask. And do have your box of tissue handy for the last 20-30 pages. You'll need it. Five stars.
If you are expecting the story as told by Hollywood, forget it. While I haven't seen the latest version with Leonardo DiCaprio (forgive me if I spell it wrong), I looked at the reader reviews and was quite surprised at how different the book is from Hollywood's version. I also recall a movie done in the late 70's/80's that is nothing like the book as well. I would pick it apart point by point, but that would include spoilers. The Man in the Iron Mask is actually the last third of a huge novel by Dumas originally titled The Vicomte de Bragelonne. Because of the size of the book, English publishers have divided into three books, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask.
Suffice it to say that TMITIM is the final chapter of our heroic Musketeers, as well as Raoul, the son of Athos. While we all know the story of Louis XIV's twin and the plot to substitute him, that is a minor part of the whole story, as the action then becomes centered on the aftermath of that plot and Louis' revenge. It has been a grand, glorious ride reading this series, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere and The Man In the Iron Mask. And do have your box of tissue handy for the last 20-30 pages. You'll need it. Five stars.
21 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Conclusion of the Three Musketeers series
19 Dec 2009
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Many people don't realize that Dumas wrote (or, to be more specific, co-wrote with Auguste Maquet) an entire series of "Three Musketeers" novels; "The Man in the Iron Mask" is the last of them, and based on a genuine historical mystery. It's a great story, with a riveting plot, but it concludes the careers of D'Artagnan and the other Musketeers, and some elements may sadden some readers.
There are a few novels in between the original Three Musketeers and this one, of varying quality. _Three Musketeers_ and _Ten Years After_ are worth reading but you may want to skip _The Vicomte de Bragelonne_ and _Louise de la Vallière_ -- the writing isn't up to snuff, and the main reason to read them is so you won't be lost when you pick up _Iron Mask_.
There are a few novels in between the original Three Musketeers and this one, of varying quality. _Three Musketeers_ and _Ten Years After_ are worth reading but you may want to skip _The Vicomte de Bragelonne_ and _Louise de la Vallière_ -- the writing isn't up to snuff, and the main reason to read them is so you won't be lost when you pick up _Iron Mask_.
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