The Three Musketeers

This historical romance, perhaps the greatest cloak-and-sword story ever written, relates the adventures of four fictional swashbuckling heroes who loyally served the French kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV. When the dashing young D'Artagnon arrives in Paris from Gascony, he becomes embroiled in three duels with the three musketeers Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. But when he proves himself by fighting, not against, but with, the three Musketeers, they form a quick and lasting friendship. The daring escapades of the four pit them against the master of intrigue, Cardinal Richelieu, and the quintessential wicked woman, Lady de Winter. Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), French novelist and playwright, was born at Viller-Cotterets, the son of an innkeeper's daughter and one of Napoleon's generals. He moved to Paris in 1823 to make his fortune in the theater, and at twenty-eight he was one of the leading literary figures of his day. His complete works were eventually to fill over 300 volumes, and his stories made him the best-known Frenchman of his age. Simon Vance is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award in 2006. Born in England, he worked for ten years as a radio news announcer for the BBC and as a narrator for the Royal National Institute for the Blind. Besides narrating, he is involved in numerous stage-acting projects in the United States and Europe.