Young D�Artagnan arrives in Paris to join the King�s elite guards, but almost immediately finds he is duelling with some of the very men he has come to swear allegiance to � Porthos, Athos and Aramis, inseparable friends: the Three Musketeers. Soon part of their close band, D�Artagnan�s loyalty to his new allies puts him in the deadly path of Cardinal Richlieu�s machinations. And when the young hero falls in love with the beautiful but inaccessible Constance, he finds himself in a world of murder, conspiracy and lies, with only the Musketeers to depend on. A stirring nineteenth-century tale of friendship and adventure, The Three Musketeers continues to be one of the most influential and popular pieces of French literature. Richard Pevear�s introduction investigates the controversy of Dumas� literary collaborators, and how important serialisation was to the book�s success. This edition also includes notes on the text.