The Romances of Alexandre Dumas, Volume 1...

It's 1661 and Louis the XIV is taking over the reign of government from his ministers. D'Artagnan is captain of the Musketeers, Aramis is now a bishop, Porthos is as big, strong and hungry as ever and Raoul, the son of Athos, is still madly in love with Louise De La Valliere. What we do see of Aramis he is plotting and scheming and has a strong interest in a mysterious prisoner in the Bastille. Louis' effeminate brother Philippe (Monsieur) has just married Henrietta (Madame) of England, but Henrietta only has eyes for Louis (well, maybe the Duke of Buckingham and the Comte de Guiche also), an attraction that Louis returns. In order to allay suspicion of Louis' jealous brother, Louis feigns an attraction to Louise (who is one of Madame's ladies in waiting), but finds himself trapped by his own schemes when he falls in love with her. LOL, some of the antics involved in trying to be alone with Louise that are constantly hampered by Madame's efforts to keep them apart. This book is different from the preceding novels of the Musketeers -- there is little if any of the swashbuckling, sword fights and derring do that the other books contained. This book focuses on the love story of Louis and Louise, along with the pomp, intrigues and scandals of Louis XIV's court. Although some readers will be disappointed at the virtual absence of the Musketeers in this book, I was fascinated at the glimpses of French history and court life which was beautifully sprinkled with laugh out loud humor reading the antics of the French court, most especially the "revolving" confessions at the Royal Oak tree. If you've come this far, you've already read The Three Musketeers (Barnes & Noble Classics), Twenty Years After (Oxford World's Classics)and The Vicomte de Bragelonne (Oxford World's Classics). The Vicomte De Bragelonne was originally published in French as one large novel, but is broken into three by English publishers, The Vicomte De Bragelonne, Louise De La Valliere and finally culminating in The Man in the Iron Mask (Oxford World's Classics). As other reviewers have noted, this book is more palace intrigue and less of the Musketeers and not everyone will enjoy it as thoroughly as I did, I loved the antics of the French court and had many a good laugh. Dumas is just brilliant (as always) and his dialogue (as always) is among the finest I've ever come across. Highly recommended. Warning - a couple of the older reviews by "a reader" on The Man in the Iron Mask contain major spoilers. If you want to be kept in the dark, don't read back too far on the reviews of that book.

Very interesting saga mingled with romance between King and Louise. Must read.

This is one of my favorite Dumas books. The central focus is on Louis XIV and Louise De La Valliere, who is one of the ladies in waiting for his sister in-law. The Sun King was having an affair with her and took notice to Louise at first as a diversion for the court so that he can spend time with his mistress without much attention. What the King did not expect was to fall in love with the plain and poor Louise, who has the heart of gold. Around this story is also the story of Aramis and Fouquet plotting some scheme which is revealed in The Man in the Iron Mask. D'Artagnan, Porthos, and Athos have small roles in this story, but will have significant roles in TMITIM. This book is probably the slowest pace among the three volumes, first is Vicomte De Bragelonne, this is second and the last is TMITIM. Readers are advised to read these books in order because you are going to have a hard time following. Also, while reading about Louise's relationship with Louis, you can't help but feel very sympathetic to Raoul, who was her betrothed and completely in love with her, ultimately leading up to his tragic death later on.

Louis De Lavalleire by Alexandre dumas is a wonderful book. It is an inspiring love story and adventure story all in one. I've never read such an amazing story.

This book together with the other two describes one of the French best history pieces. Louis XIV was an extraordinary person despite certain criticism. "Louise de La Valliere" shows a young king who is eager to rule and has got a character that is still vulnerable at that time. He is in love with a woman who is honest to love the king for himself and is not able to love anyone else. I find this romance fascinating and pure. The story is based on the real characters and the book brings us to the XVIIth century France which looks idyllic. Dumas practically showed us how the love, which led to the creation of Versailles, began. I researched the topic and I should say that the more I learn about that time period the more I am surprised how Dumas' imagination cuold do such a wonderful job of reviving his heros. I read many more "serious" books after and should say that in my bad and good days I would go back to the book and find it more interesting than before. I read it in English and my native language and hope that someday I will be able to learn French to read it becccause I am sure that there is no translation that could be able to come close to the culture itself...