It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in collaboration with ghostwriter Auguste Maquet. Set between and , it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan a character based on Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, hoping to join the Musketeers of the Guard.
Although d'Artagnan is not able to join this elite corps immediately, he is befriended by three of the most formidable musketeers of the age — Athos , Porthos and Aramis , "the three musketeers" or "the three inseparables" — and becomes involved in affairs of state and at court.
The Three Musketeers is primarily a historical and adventure novel. The story was first serialised from March to July , during the July Monarchy , four years before the French Revolution of established the Second Republic. Dumas presents his novel as one of a series of recovered manuscripts, turning the origins of his romance into a little drama of its own. Dumas "requested permission" to reprint the manuscript; permission was granted:. Now, this is the first part of this precious manuscript which we offer to our readers, restoring it to the title which belongs to it, and entering into an engagement that if of which we have no doubt this first part should obtain the success it merits, we will publish the second immediately.
This being understood, let us proceed with our story. Maquet would suggest plot outlines after doing historical research; Dumas then expanded the plot, removing some characters, including new ones and imbuing the story with his unmistakable style.
At a house in Meung-sur-Loire , an older man derides D'Artagnan's horse. Insulted, D'Artagnan demands a duel. The older man's companions instead beat D'Artagnan unconscious with a cooking pot and a tong that breaks his sword. D'Artagnan resolves to avenge himself upon the older man, who is actually the Comte de Rochefort , an agent of Cardinal Richelieu , who is passing the latter's orders to his spy, Milady de Winter.
