The Vicomte of Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas

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.