The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumass most famous and enduring novel, completed its serial publication in the summer of 1844, and by the time of its book publication at the end of that year readers were already demanding a sequel. They got it starting in January, 1845, when the first chapters ofTwenty Years Afterbegan to appearbut it wasnt quite what they were expecting.

WhenTwenty Years Afteropens it is 1648: the Red Sphinx, Cardinal Richelieu, is dead, France is ruled by a regency in the grip of civil war, and across the English Channel the monarchy of King Charles I hangs by a thread. As dArtagnan will find, these are problems that cant be solved with a sword thrust. InTwenty Years After, the musketeers confront maturity and face its greatest challenge: sometimes, you fail. Its in how the four comrades respond to failure, and rise above it, that we begin to see the true characters of Dumass great heroes.

A true literary achievement,Twenty Years Afteris long overdue for a modern reassessmentand a new translation. As an added inducement to readers, Lawrence Ellsworthhas discovered a lost chapter that was overlooked in the novels original publication, and is included in none of the available English translations to dateuntil now.

WithTwenty Years AfterDumass Musketeers Cycle becomes a real ongoing series, beginning a long story arc that will be continued inThe Son of Milady,adventure following adventure until the final climax inThe Man in the Iron Mask.