Twenty Years Later

Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) was a renowned French writer, playwright, and journalist. He was born in a small town in northern France, into the family of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas and Marie-Louise Labouret, the daughter of an innkeeper. In his youth, Dumas decided to become a playwright and, upon maturing, moved to Paris. Inquisitive and hardworking, he succeeded in having his plays staged on theatrical stages. They enjoyed tremendous success with the public and generated significant revenue, much to the delight of the theater directors. Having gained recognition in the theatrical field, Dumas turned to writing novels. The plots of his works often unfold against the backdrop of events in French history. To write them, Dumas studied historical documents, chronicles, and memoirs of notable figures. Nevertheless, there is no absolute historical accuracy in his works: Dumas aimed to make his novels as interesting as possible, wanting to fill them with incredible adventures, which sometimes led him to distort facts for the sake of an intriguing plot. Such distortions are quite permissible in fiction that does not claim scientific reliability. Dumas's works, particularly those written in the genre of the roman-feuilleton, were especially popular. This genre was widely spread in the publishing circles of that time, but Dumas managed to stand out among many other writers. Feuilleton novels were published in magazines in installments, so to maintain reader interest, Dumas tried to end each chapter on an unexpected, gripping note. Notable works in this category include the famous "The Three Musketeers" and its lesser-known but equally captivating sequel — the historical-adventure novel "Twenty Years Later," presented in this edition.

The first publication of this novel took place in 1845. The action takes place in the 1640s against the backdrop of the conflict between the French crown and Parliament. The rift among the nobility, unrest among the people, and a tightly wound knot of intrigues become the reason for the return of the clever and brave d'Artagnan to the center of events. The daring and audacious musketeer is to gather his old friends and carry out the most impossible and dangerous tasks. The novel is provided in the translation of Russian historian, writer, and journalist Vladimir Mikhailovich Stroeva (1812–1862). His translation, concise and rare, is published for the first time in the last hundred years.