Summary
Summary of The Conspirators; Or, the Chevalier d'Harmental
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A political plot becomes personal
A real plot against the Duke of Orléans gives Dumas the frame for a story of ambition, danger and love. Written with Auguste Maquet, the novel places a young hero among secret meetings, hired swords and a court that treats danger with both fear and amusement.
The political scheme is only part of what matters. A love story pulls the hero away from the wishes of his allies, making public ambition and private feeling competing forces from the start.
Key idea 2
Resentment gathers around the Regent
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Key idea 3
A window opens another possibility
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Key idea 4
Every recruit brings another risk
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Key idea 5
The enemy unsettles the hero
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Key idea 6
Love divides the hero's loyalties
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Key idea 7
Great causes endanger ordinary lives
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Key idea 8
Private hopes carry public consequences
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love swashbuckling history, secret plots and a love story with real risk. It is also a good start for anyone who has enjoyed The Three Musketeers.
What this book is
The Conspirators, also known as the Chevalier d'Harmental, is a historical novel by Alexandre Dumas, written with his helper Auguste Maquet and first published in 1843. It was the first of Dumas's novels set in the years after the death of Louis XIV, when France was ruled by a regent for a child king. Dumas took a real plot against that regent, the Duke of Orléans, and built a young hero, a love story and a crowd of sharp characters around it.
You get a story of secret meetings, hired swords, a Spanish ambassador and a court that is half frightened and half amused. You also get a love story that pulls the hero in a direction his friends do not want. Dumas writes fast, with wit and with a sure feel for Paris streets and palace rooms. To begin, we need to see the France in which the plot is born, and why so many people wanted the regent gone.
In this summary
- 1A kingdom run by a regentFree
- 2A ruined young officer looks across the street
- 3The Duchess of Maine gathers her plotters
- 4The Regent is not the man they expect
- 5Love and loyalty pull in opposite ways
- 6What it is about and how it is told
Key point 1 of 6
A kingdom run by a regent
The story opens in the France that follows the death of Louis XIV in 1715. The new king, Louis XV, is a small child, so the country is governed by Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who is called the Regent. The old king's rule had been strict and solemn. Under the Regent, the court becomes freer, noisier and more given to pleasure.
Not everyone accepts this change. Some nobles believe the Regent has taken power that belongs to others. The late king's favoured son, the Duke of Maine, and his proud wife, the Duchess of Maine, feel pushed aside. They want influence back, and they look for allies at home and abroad.
One of those allies is the king of Spain, Philip V, who has his own claims and his own reasons to dislike the Regent. His ambassador in Paris, the Prince of Cellamare, becomes the quiet centre of a growing plan. Dumas uses these real names and real tensions as the frame of his tale.
Against this background he sets a world of rumour, spies and ministers who read other people's letters. The Regent has clever servants, among them the sly Abbé Dubois, who watches for any sign of trouble. Everyone in this Paris is listening, and every secret is worth money. That is the ground on which a young man with nothing to lose is about to walk.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
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What do the conspirators intend to achieve?
Right. “The aim is to remove the Regent's power and place the regency in other hands, with Spanish support.”Not quite. “The aim is to remove the Regent's power and place the regency in other hands, with Spanish support.”
Why do d'Harmental's encounters with the Regent unsettle him?
Right. “The man they want to bring down is more likeable than many of those who plot against him.”Not quite. “The man they want to bring down is more likeable than many of those who plot against him.”
What central choice does d'Harmental face as the plot advances?
Right. “Does he keep faith with the friends and the cause he has joined, or with the woman he loves?”Not quite. “Does he keep faith with the friends and the cause he has joined, or with the woman he loves?”
Who’s who
- Raoul, Chevalier d'Harmental
- A brave young nobleman and soldier, he joins the plot against the Regent and falls in love with Bathilde.
- Bathilde
- A gentle orphan supporting herself through modest work, she is Buvat's ward and d'Harmental's neighbour.
- Buvat
- A timid, kindly copyist at the Royal Library, he cares for Bathilde and values a quiet life.
- Philippe, Duke of Orléans
- The witty, pleasure-loving Regent governs France for its child king and faces the conspirators' opposition.
- The Duchess of Maine
- A proud noblewoman hostile to the Regent, she gathers the allies who draw d'Harmental into their conspiracy.
- Captain Roquefinette
- A rough-mannered soldier and swordsman, he lends his fighting skills to the plotters opposing the Regent.
- The Prince of Cellamare
- The Spanish ambassador in Paris, he supports the conspiracy against the Regent on behalf of Spain's king.
- Abbé Dubois
- The Regent's shrewd minister, he uses spies and cunning to watch for threats against his master.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 134,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 8 h 55 min
- Listening time14 h 55 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages