Hello fellow of Cyberspace, today I want to talk about this book The Vicomte of Bragelonne
by Alexandre Dumas.
Hope you like.
Title: The Vicomte of Bragelonne:
Original
title: Le Vicomte de Bragelonne:
Author Name: Alexandre Dumas, with the collaboration
of Auguste Maquet
ISBN:
Original Language: frances
Genre: Historical, Romantic
Publisher: 2009
Current year of publication: 2009
Year of reading: 2018
Additional Information:
Personally, I find it very bad that they do not report
that this book is part of a trilogy called D'Artagnan's novels, and that the
third book, The Viscount of Bragelonne, is divided into 3 different volumes
with the name The Viscount of Bragelonne, Louise of La Valliere and the Man of
the Iron Mask. Giving to understand that they are different books, when in fact
they are only one The viscount of Bragelonne.
Abstract of the work:
The novel begins in 1660, ten years since the events
of Twenty years later. In his residence in Blois, the Viscount of Bragelonne
and young Musketeer, Raul, is reunited with Luisa de La Vallière whom he loves
deeply, although the Count de La Fère, better known as Athos and father of the
young man, does not agree with that relationship.
Charles II of England, whose restoration to the throne
was supported by Athos and D'Artagnan.
On the other hand, in England, the Royal Navy is in
the hands of General John Lambert, while his enemies, the Scots, obey the
orders of General George Monck. This last one has invaded Newcastle, port of
the northeast of England, and soon it will attack London, occupied by the
soldiers of Lambert. In as much, Carlos II, son of Carlos I and heir to the
English throne, is exiled in the United Provinces of the Netherlands, but
decided to recover the crown, arrives at Blois to request to the king Luis XIV
and the cardinal Mazarino economic aid for this purpose, which is denied by
them. Being about to leave France, Charles II happened to find the house of
Athos in La Fère, who in the past tried to help his father. The count explains
to him that Carlos I, before dying, revealed to him the existence of a fortune
hidden in a castle of Newcastle, with which he could help his son Carlos II in
the future. Then, true to his honor, Athos leaves with his servant Grimaud on
his way to England to recover it.
In as much, D'Artagnan, that knew of the refusal of
Luis XIV and Mazarino to help Carlos II, and reduced to lieutenant of
musketeers, resigns to his position to cooperate with greater liberties in the
English restoration. First he looks for his three friends to help him in his
adventure, but he does not find them. However, in Paris, he arrives at the
house of Planchet, his ex-servant, to whom he proposes a good deal and thus
obtains money. With this, the Gascon hires a dozen men for his mission, up in
Normandy, rents a fishing boat and marches to Newcastle. There, dressed as
fishermen, they offer provisions to General Monck and settle in the village,
while Athos, at the same time, contacts him, pointing out the existence of the
fortune belonging to Charles II. General Monck, who accompanies Athos to
recover the treasure, recognizes that the rise of a king is much more positive
than a confrontation between English and Scottish, and decides to convince
Lambert, but disappears mysteriously.
Two days later, D'Artagnan, as chief of the fishermen,
arrives in the Netherlands, in the town of Scheveningen, where Charles II is a
refugee. The Gascon presents him with a large box with holes in it: D'Artagnan
himself had locked up General Monck. D'Artagnan explains to Charles II that Monck,
having the confidence of Parliament, will serve as an ally to recover the
throne. Carlos II, grateful, releases the general and this, together with
D'Artagnan, they return to Newcastle, but upon arriving at the camp, they
realize that soldiers have set fire to the house of Athos - where he
transferred the gold of Charles II. - to make him leave, since they believe
that he is responsible for the disappearance of his general. However, the count
is saved in time by D'Artagnan and together they put out the fire. Then, Athos
marches to Holland with fortune, while in the midst of fruitless negotiations,
General Lambert loses the support of his soldiers, who side with General Monck.
This triumphant arrives in London and declares that Charles II must take power in
England because that country needs a king, to which Parliament accepts: thus,
Charles II becomes the new monarch of England.
Nicolás Fouquet, Superintendent of Finance, whom Luis
XIV and Colbert distrust.
On his return to France, Athos decides to accept the
wedding between Raúl and Luisa, but he fears for the future of his son because
of that love. On the other hand, Louis XIV is forced to marry Maria Theresa of
Austria, despite loving Maria Mancini, Mazarin's niece. Months later, the
cardinal fell ill and died, but not before suggesting to Louis XIV that he not
take counselors. Thus, the young king obtains power. For its part, Henriette of
England, known as Minette and sister of King Charles II, married Monsieur
Philip of France, the effeminate brother of King Louis XIV.
At the court, in addition, the figures of Nicolás
Fouquet, the powerful Superintendent of Finance and owner of Belle-Île-en-Mer,
and of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, administrative and financial controller,
recommended by Mazarino to Luis XIV, are outlined , which tells the king of the
unjustified expenses of Fouquet. Faced with this situation, Louis XIV ordered
D'Artagnan to be called and offered him the captaincy of musketeers, sending
him to Belle-Île, as his first mission, as he received reports that Fouquet had
fortified this place. Colbert envies Fouquet and succeeds in getting Louis XIV
to condemn.
At the court, in addition, the figures of Nicolás
Fouquet, the powerful Superintendent of Finance and owner of Belle-Île-en-Mer,
and of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, administrative and financial controller,
recommended by Mazarino to Luis XIV, are outlined , which tells the king of the
unjustified expenses of Fouquet. Faced with this situation, Louis XIV ordered
D'Artagnan to be called and offered him the captaincy of musketeers, sending
him to Belle-Île, as his first mission, as he received reports that Fouquet had
fortified this place. Colbert envies Fouquet and succeeds in getting Louis XIV
to condemn two friends of the Superintendent to death, on the pretext of
corruption. Fouquet tries to save them and makes a plan to burn a house and in
order to achieve evasion, however, he did not know that the house was owned by
D'Artagnan, who defends it and, without knowing it, frustrates Fouquet's plan.
D'Artagnan leaves to Belle-Île and discovers that the supervisors of the
construction on the island are Porthos -baron de Vallon- and Aramis -bishop of
Vannes, whose real name is René de Herblay-. Aramis when discovered, deceives
D'Artagnan and immediately goes to Paris to meet Fouquet, suggesting that it is
necessary to give him the strength of Belle-Île to the King, which he does
immediately. Having left Fouquet of the audience with Louis XIV, D'Artagnan
comes to confirm to the king that indeed Belle-Île is a fortification, a matter
that no longer matters to the monarch, since the island is now his property.
After his marriage to Henriette, Prince Monsieur
Philip succumbs successively to jealousy. Thus, he first asks his mother, Anne
of Austria, to expel the Duke of Buckingham from France, and then asks the
king, his brother, for Guiche's exile. But the princess Enriqueta, coquette by
nature, puts the eyes in the own Luis XIV. Felipe renews his complaints to the
queen mother, who echoes them, so the king and the princess look for a person,
who, unknowingly, is the cover of their relationship through the strategy,
called, by then France, the paravent (screen), that is, the king had to pretend
to court a certain lady so that the court would not intervene in the idyll that
was born between him and his sister-in-law Enriqueta. Thus, they choose Luisa
de La Vallière, who secretly loved Louis XIV since his visit to the house where
he worked. When Athos, on behalf of Raul, went to ask the king for an
authorization for his marriage with Luisa, he opposed his refusal and sent to
England the young musketeer, turned into his rival in love.
Later, when returning to France, Raúl meets with Luisa
and she confesses that he loves another man. The young man leaves in pain,
while Athos appears before Luis XIV to insist that he accepts the wedding,
nevertheless the king reveals to him that he loves Luisa. The count, then,
breaks his sword and with it his oath of allegiance to the king, since he has
become his enemy. Having lost a faithful servant in the person of Athos, the
king wishes that D'Artagnan be again at his service and proposes to him to be
the captain of his musketeers, to which the Gascon accepts. However, Louis XIV,
humiliated by the insult of Athos, ordered D'Artagnan capture his friend to
lock him in the Bastille. The musketeer does his best to avoid the imprisonment
of Athos and after taking him to a dinner with the Lord of Baisemeaux, governor
of the Bastille, appears before the king, discusses with him and finally obtains
the freedom of the count, who chooses to retire definitely to his residence in
La Fère, on the banks of the Loire.
The legend of the man in the iron mask inspired
Alexandre Dumas for the last part of the novel.
Meanwhile, Aramis, who had also become the General of
the Society of Jesus, meets with a mysterious prisoner of the Bastille named
Felipe. From his conversation with this it is revealed that on September 5,
1638, there was born a son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, but two: Louis
XIV has a twin brother, who is none other than Philip. That second son could,
with the time and armed of the interests of a party, to dispute the crown by
means of a civil war, situation that worried to the kings, who chose to move it
away sending it first to a house of field and soon to a prison in the Bastille
Thus, after releasing it thanks to a stratagem in which he mocked Baisemeaux,
Aramis proposes to Felipe claim his lost rights replacing the king thanks to
his great physical resemblance, offer that the young prince accepts. In
exchange, once on the throne, Philip would appoint Herblay as his prime
minister and help him become a cardinal and then a pope. Then, with the help of
Porthos, who was unaware of the plot, Aramis takes advantage of the parties
celebrated by Fouquet at the Palace of Vaux-le-Vicomte in honor of the king, to
strike and secretly effect the exchange between brothers: Luis XIV ends up
imprisoned in the Bastille, while Felipe wakes up the next day in his palace
room, assuming his role as king before the court. Then, Aramis, hoping to have
Fouquet's approval, tells him the secret of his plan; However, contrary to what
he believed, he received the repudiation of the superintendent, who, furious,
ordered him to flee France and settle in Belle-Île. At the same time, feeling
guilty of the fate of his guest, Fouquet decides to go save Luis XIV, freeing
him from his captivity and then taking him to the palace, where both brothers
would meet face to face in the stupor of the court. Felipe is immediately imprisoned
by D'Artagnan, who regrets doing so, and ends up being sent to the island of
Santa Margarita with an iron mask on his face.
Luis XIV, one of the central characters of El Vizconde
de Bragelonne.
The rescue of Louis XIV by Fouquet, does not prevent it
also ends up falling into disgrace: Colbert's denunciations and the jealousy of
Louis XIV end in his dismissal and in his persecution and arrest at the hands
of D'Artagnan in Nantes misappropriation of public funds, being locked up
forever in the prison of Pignerol. On the other hand, Colbert assumed the
administration of the finances of the kingdom, whereas D'Artagnan returned to
the Island of Santa Margarita, whose governor was Bénigne de Saint-Mars, to
watch Felipe.
On the other hand, Aramis, who fled in the company of
Porthos, arrives at the house of Athos, reveals to him the failure of his plan
and proposes to join them to make resistance in Belle-Île against the king.
However, the count prefers to stay out and says goodbye to his friends, as he is
worried about his son, who has decided to go to war in Algeria with the Duke of
Beaufort. Later, accompanying him on the French coasts to recruit men, Athos
and his son arrive at the Island of Santa Margarita, where they spot the
prisoner prince and also say goodbye to D'Artagnan, to whom Raúl delivers a
letter to Luisa de La Vallière.
In Belle-Île, meanwhile, Aramis thinks that the king
will not attack without Fouquet's authorization. However, the bishop of Vannes
ignores that the island now passed into the hands of Louis XIV after the fall
of the minister, so that when he saw in the distance the ships of the king
transporting soldiers, he realized that he and his men were in danger, and
reveals to Porthos the truth of his plot. D'Artagnan, who arrives at the place
from one of the ships, tries to prevent his friends, but is prevented by an
officer of the king, who anticipates all his movements. The island is attacked
and the Gascon, frustrated, goes to France to present his resignation to the
king, who accepts it. Meanwhile, in Belle-Île, in the middle of an intense
fight in the cave of Locmaria, Porthos succumbs to being crushed by the rocks
of the place, after an explosion of gunpowder, and dies before the impotence of
Aramis, who, together with the Bretons who supported him, is taken safely on a
ship to Spain.
Far from those events, Athos, who had said goodbye to
Raul, falls into a deep sadness. In dreams, he warns about the death of Porthos
and his son. Then, prostrate in his bed, receives from Grimaud the news that
indeed Raul died in Algeria and died shortly, hoping to reconnect with his son
in the afterlife. D'Artagnan, who arrives at the count's house, cries and then
gives Luisa the letter from Raúl, blaming the young woman for the death of the
son and father.
Years later, D'Artagnan, again in command of the
musketeers, received an invitation to dine with the king, Colbert and the Duke
of Alameda, ambassador of Spain. When arriving at the court, it discovers that
the Duke is not other than Aramis, reconciled with Luis XIV and to whom the
neutrality of Spain assures him before the war between France and Holland.
D'Artagnan and Aramis say goodbye sadly, and the musketeer marches with his
troops to besiege Maastricht, hoping to obtain the marshal's baton from France.
There, directing the site of the city, he succeeds, but is wounded by a bullet
and dies in the arms of his soldiers.
