The Three Musketeers

　　《三劍客》是以法國國王路易十三和手握重兵、權傾朝野的首相李卻立紅衣主教的矛盾為背景，穿插群臣派系的明爭暗鬥，圍繞宮廷裡的秘史軼聞，展開了饒富趣味的故事。
　　
　　書中主人公少年勇士達太安，懷揣其父留給他的十五個埃居，騎一匹長毛瘦馬，告別其親遠赴巴黎，希望在同鄉父執的特雷維爾為隊長的國王火槍隊裡當一名火槍手。在隊長府上，他遇上頗圖斯，亞瑟斯和亞拉米三個火槍手，經過一場騎士決鬥，四人結成生死與共的知己……
　　
　 　大仲馬的小說人物非凡之舉，原動力固然因人而異，其中不乏高尚的忠誠、友情、正義感和俠義精神，但是幾乎無一例外的受貪欲驅使。他們貪圖榮譽、金錢、女 人、權力，貪圖美酒佳餚，還渴望復仇。由希臘宙斯等諸神所開創的貪欲和復仇的傳統源遠流長，在歐洲文藝復興時期又發揚光大；從拉伯雷、伏爾泰，到大仲馬， 一脈相承。

　　本書特色
　　◎世界最知名的劍俠小說，世界經典永遠的神話
　　◎情節動作取勝，筆下人物取材自史實，大仲馬為全人民寫的「戲說歷史」
　　◎史詩壯闊的氣氛、奢華的顏彩、氣派恢弘的歷史背景、正義凜然的英雄人物、詭譎的宮廷密謀、瑰麗的宮闈秘事、鮮明的故事角色、充滿挑戰的冒險犯難
　　◎「人人為我，我為人人」成為耳熟能詳的經典名句
　　◎主角鍥而不捨地追求自己的理想，善與惡的強烈對比，邪惡勢力在卷末的下場，讓人讀了大快人心

　　*本中文簡介取自<<三劍客>>由商周出版出版

　　It is 1625 and France is under threat. D’Artagnan, a young nobleman, sets off to Paris to seek his fortune as a member of the King's Guard and befriends three musketeers - the mysterious Athos, ambitious and romantic Aramis, and bumbling Porthos. Together the friends must use all their guile and ingenuity to outwit the dastardly schemes of Cardinal Richelieu and the glamorous spy, Milady.

　　As fresh and entertaining today as when it was first written, Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers is a gripping adventure story of daring sword fights, romances, espionage and murder.

　　This sensitively abridged Macmillan Collector’s Library edition of The Three Musketeers features an afterword by playwright, screenwriter and actor, Peter Harness.

大仲馬（Alexandre Dumas）
　　
　　十九世紀最受歡迎與最多產的法國作家，三十歲便以劇本創作而名聲大噪，開啟了法國浪漫主義戲劇的序幕，與雨果同被譽為戲劇界雙傑。
　　
　 　一八四四年起陸續發表通俗小說《三劍客》與《基督山恩仇記》等，幾乎已被譯成世界上所有的語言而廣為流傳，備受歡迎。 一生著有一百五十多部小說，九十多個劇本，文集二五○卷，以歷史小說聞名於世。他的小說情節緊湊、人物鮮活、舞台感豐富，風靡全世界的讀者，一生創作量驚 人，多達兩百七十餘種，在法國文壇的魅力歷久不衰。
　　
　　二○○二年，在大仲馬出生兩百年後，法國總統席哈克頒令，十一月三十日將大仲馬的骨灰移靈巴黎萬神殿的先賢祠，與法國大文豪如雨果、伏爾泰、左拉等共享榮耀，肯定他縱橫的才氣與雨果一樣，都是法國的國寶。

　　Alexandre Dumas was born in France in 1802, the son of the half-Creole aristocrat General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. In early adulthood, he took work as a clerk, met the renowned actor Talma, and began to write short pieces for the theatre. Dumas later turned his hand to novel-writing, and penned such classics as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. After enduring a short period of bankruptcy, Dumas began to travel extensively, still keeping up a prodigious output of journalism, short fiction and novels. He had around forty mistresses in his lifetime and fathered at least four illegitimate children, including Alexandre Dumas, fils, who later wrote La Dame aux Camélias. He died in Dieppe in 1870.