27 h 26 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 27 h 26 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 674 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 674 pagesAbout this book
What happens when four friends still trust each other with their lives, but no longer fight for the same side?
In Twenty Years After, Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet reunite d’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis in a restless France. D’Artagnan remains a lieutenant, still waiting for the reward his service deserves. Cardinal Mazarin needs loyal swordsmen against the growing Fronde rebellion, and sends him to find the friends time has scattered.
But reunion does not mean agreement. Athos and Aramis lean toward the rebels, while old affection strains against new loyalties. Across the Channel, Charles I fights for his crown against Oliver Cromwell. As secret errands and political bargains draw the friends into danger, a young man’s grudge brings their past close behind them.
What you’ll discover
- Old friends, changed lives Meet four familiar companions whose ambitions and duties no longer lead them down the same road.
- A city near revolt Enter a hungry, angry Paris where court intrigue meets rebellion in the streets.
- Swords and secret errands Follow brisk chases, sharp bargaining and swordplay through a world of shifting alliances.
- Honour under pressure Explore what loyalty costs when friendship pulls one way and duty pulls another.
- Wit beside regret Enjoy a warm, funny, sometimes sad adventure about growing older without letting friendship go.
Who will love it
For readers who enjoyed The Three Musketeers and love witty adventures, swordplay and history told as a story. Friendship under strain, political intrigue and honour tested by ambition bring the four companions together again.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Paris in 1648 is a city on edge
- D'Artagnan has waited too long for reward
- Mazarin sends d'Artagnan to find his friends
- Each friend has become a different man
- The Fronde divides the four friends
- A young man with a grudge hunts them
- England burns while kings and ministers bargain
- Friendship, honour and growing old are the themes
- How Dumas and Maquet build the adventure
Who’s who
- D'ArtagnanA Gascon lieutenant of musketeers, now about forty, clever and loyal, who longs for the rank and reward that twenty years of service have not brought.
- AthosThe Comte de la Fère, grave and honourable, living quietly with his young ward Raoul and guided by a strict sense of duty.
- PorthosPorthos du Vallon, enormously strong and rich, good-hearted and vain, who wants a title worthy of his fortune.
- AramisNow the Abbé d'Herblay, a polished churchman who still carries a sword and keeps his plans and loyalties well hidden.
- Cardinal MazarinThe Italian chief minister of France, shrewd, miserly and persuasive, who needs capable swordsmen to defend his power against the Fronde.
- MordauntA cold, patient young man raised with hatred in his heart, who seeks vengeance on the friends who brought down his mother, Milady.
- Raoul de BragelonneAthos's young ward, brave and gentle, who is learning what honour and loyalty truly cost.
- PlanchetD'Artagnan's former servant, now a grocer in Paris, still devoted to his old master and ready to help him.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 27 h 26 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 674 pages: 19,95 USD when you start free, 25,95 USD on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 674 pages: 26,95 USD when you start free, 32,95 USD on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Twenty Years After
by Alexandre Dumas; Auguste Maquet · 1845
D'Artagnan gathers his old companions as rebellion in Paris threatens to divide their loyalties.
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In short
Twenty Years After is a historical adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, written with his collaborator Auguste Maquet and first published as a newspaper serial in 1845. It continues the tale of The Three Musketeers, jumping ahead two decades to the troubled France of the late 1640s.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Paris in 1648 is a city on edge
The story opens in France in 1648, twenty years after the first adventure. King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu are dead. The new king, Louis XIV, is only a boy, so his mother, Anne of Austria, rules as regent. The real power sits with her chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin, an Italian who came to France as a diplomat and rose very high.
Mazarin is not loved. He is clever, patient and fond of money, and the French people see him as a foreigner who is draining the country to pay for war. New taxes fall hard on ordinary Parisians. The city's courts, called the Parlement, push back against the crown, and that resistance grows into the movement known as the Fronde. The name comes from a sling that street boys used for throwing stones.
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What is Twenty Years After about?
It follows d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis two decades after The Three Musketeers. During the Fronde in France and the English civil war, the friends find themselves on different sides and face a young enemy seeking revenge.
Do I need to read The Three Musketeers first?
It helps a great deal, because the characters and the grudge behind Mordaunt come from the first book. The sequel does fill in some background, but you will enjoy it much more if you know the earlier story.
Is Twenty Years After based on a true story?
Partly. The Fronde, Cardinal Mazarin, Anne of Austria, Charles I and Cromwell are real, and the book was published in 1845. Mordaunt, however, is invented by Dumas, the four heroes are fictionalized versions of real men, and he bends many details.
The author
Alexandre Dumas
1802–1870 · French novelist and playwright
Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) was a French novelist and playwright. He was born in Villers-Cotterêts, lived in Paris, and died in Puys, near Dieppe. He wrote The Three Musketeers (1844), The Count of Monte Cristo (1844–1846), Twenty Years After (1845), and The Black Tulip (1850).
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