The Three Musketeers is one of the most well-known adventure stories ever written, and the sense of comradeship between the characters makes the title a household phrase. Some of the fans of the Musketeers may wonder what ever happened to Porthos, Athos, Aramis and new recruit D'Artagnan, and if anything ever came between them. For those who want to know, the final installment of the Musketeers' trilogy, The Man in the Iron Mask, holds the answers.
The foursome are still close friends, even though they are no longer the four Musketeers. D'Artagnan is captain of the Musketeers, and is ever faithful to the king. When the story begins, something shocking is revealed - Aramis is now a priest plotting against the king. Aramis has discovered that the king has a twin brother who is in prison, and believes that this prisoner should usurp his brother's position and claim the throne.
Aramis helps the prisoner, Phillippe, to pull a switcheroo and put the real king in the Bastille. However, the plan does not last long, and soon the imposter is discovered, and sentenced to years in prison wearing an iron helmet with an iron mask. Aramis and Porthos are condemned to a strongly fortified island called Belle-Isle, where they will be trapped, but safe from the king. On the way to the isle they visit Athos and his son, Raoul, who decides to go to war, and they all decide to go together to say goodbye to D'Artagnan.
Eventually D'Artagnan is ordered to seize Belle-Isle, and is distressed, not wanting to harm his friends. Suddenly, D'Artagnan must decide whose side he's on.
The story is long and complex, and was, like all the Three Musketeers stories, published in serial segments in a French magazine. Because it was originally written to be read in small parts over time, trying it all at once makes for a bit of a clunky read, and makes the story seem very long, complicated, and drawn-out. Also, the title is decieving. Phillippe, the man who wears the iron mask, is a very minor character and only briefly in the book; the novel is truly the continuing story of the four Musketeers. This is an error in translation, since the original title was, The Vicomte de Bragalonne: Ten Years Later (The Vicomte is Raoul, Athos' son). Dumas' writing is exciting and beautiful, but the story seems unnecessary for the current times. Readers no longer religiously follow the characters through story after story in a magazine, and The Man in the Iron Mask seems only suitable for the most intimate and faithful fans of Porthos, Athos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan. For those avid lovers of the four, this book tests the true meaning of "all for one, one for all."
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