"A swashbuckling epic of chivalry, honor, and derring-do, it is set in France during the 1620s and richly populated with romantic heroes, unattainable heroines, kings, queens, cavaliers, and criminals in a whirl of adventure, espionage, conspiracy, murder, vengeance, love, scandal, and suspense. Dumas transforms major and minor historical figures into larger-than-life characters: the brave d'Artagnan, an impetuous young man in pursuit of glory; the beguilingly evil seductress 'Milady''; the powerful and devious Cardinal Richelieu; the weak King Louis XIII and his unhappy queen--and, of course, the three musketeers themselves, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, whose motto 'all for one, one for all' has come to epitmize the devoted friendship. With a plot that delivers stolen diamonds, masked balls, purloined letters, and, of course, great bouts of swordplay, The Three Musketeers is eternally entertaining"--Publisher description, p. [2] of dust jacket.