The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later

The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later

Engraving illustrating an old edition of the Vicomte de Bragelonne
Author	Alexandre Dumas in collaboration with Auguste Maquet
Original title	Le Vicomte de Bragelonne ou Dix ans plus tard
Country	France
Language	Translated from French
Genre	Historical, Romantic
Publication date	French, serialized 1847–1850
Preceded by	Twenty Years After

The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later (French: Le Vicomte de Bragelonne ou Dix ans plus tard [lə vikɔ̃t də bʁaʒəlɔn u diz‿ɑ̃ ply taʁ]) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is the third and last of The d'Artagnan Romances, following The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After. It appeared first in serial form between 1847 and 1850.

In the English translations, the 268 chapters of this large volume are usually subdivided into three, but sometimes four or even six individual books. In three-volume English editions the volumes are entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Vallière, and The Man in the Iron Mask. Each volume is roughly the length of the original The Three Musketeers (1844).

In four-volume editions volume names remain except that Louise de la Vallière and The Man in the Iron Mask move from second and third volumes to third and fourth, with Ten Years Later becoming the second volume.

Set in the 1660s and concerned with the early reign of Louis XIV, the novel has been called an "origins" story of the King, "a tale about the education of a young man who went on to rule for over 70 years and become one of France's most beloved monarchs." Naturally, in a novel about Dumas' musketeers, the characters play an important role in Louis' education.^[1]