The Three Musketeers. Two Hundred Fifty Illustrations

The famous novel by Alexandre Dumas (father) «The Three Musketeers» is published in the translation of V. M. Stroeva. The edition is adorned with more than two hundred fifty illustrations by the French painter and illustrator Maurice Leloir, who brought this master worldwide fame. The book includes portraits of Dumas-father and Dumas-son, two engravings by G. Doré depicting the monument to A. Dumas in Paris, and an interesting essay by A. I. Kuprin «Dumas-father», which was written in 1919 and published in Paris in 1930 in the émigré newspaper «Revival».

Dumas-father began publishing his most famous historical-adventure novel in the spring of 1844 as separate chapters in the Paris newspaper «Le Siècle». The writer skillfully ended the narrative each time at the most interesting moment. Hundreds of Parisians waited for hours for newsboys to literally snatch the freshly printed pages from their hands to eagerly follow the adventures of the Gascon d'Artagnan and his friends the musketeers. While Dumas was still alive, some intellectuals began to call him a boulevard and lightweight writer. The other French adored him. It is no coincidence that on the pedestal of the monument to the writer, which was erected in 1883 in Paris in the square of General Cartu, alongside d'Artagnan are depicted three Frenchmen leaning over the pages of Dumas's book. In the early 20th century, A. I. Kuprin wrote about Dumas's work: «his novels, despite being almost a century old, live, contrary to the laws of time and oblivion, with the same undying strength and the same good charm as Andersen's fairy tales, as „Uncle Tom's Cabin“, and they will give many quiet and bright moments in the future». These words fully apply to «The Three Musketeers».

The book is adorned with about two hundred fifty magnificent illustrations by Maurice Leloir. Fate itself seemed to have destined him to become an artist. Maurice was born in the mid-19th century into a family of French painters. His father was a battle artist, and his mother was a watercolorist who illustrated the works of Walter Scott, Victor Hugo, and many other writers. Maurice's maternal grandfather was a talented painter. It is not surprising that young Leloir followed in his parents' footsteps. He tried his hand at various genres, but particularly excelled at book illustrations. Several generations of French people saw 17th-century Paris through the eyes of Maurice Leloir. The secret of the success of his drawings for «The Three Musketeers» lies in their historical accuracy. Leloir meticulously depicted the details of the architecture, furniture, and clothing of the time. His father, Jean-Baptiste Auguste Leloir, instilled in the artist a love for precision. In Paris, he became the founder of the Society of Costume History and led this circle throughout his life. In his youth, Maurice examined hundreds of drawings that captured the history of his country in the details of clothing and equipment. Later, he became the author of «The History of Costume from Antiquity to 1914» and «The Dictionary of Costume and its Accessories, Weapons, and Fabrics». It is not surprising that the illustrations for «The Three Musketeers» brought Leloir worldwide fame. They are historically accurate.