Blood Royal or, The Son of Milady

The Musketeers Cycle, Book 3.5

By: Alexandre Dumas, Lawrence Ellsworth - translator

Narrated by: John Lee

The latest entry in this acclaimed series of new translations of the Musketeer novels, Blood Royal continues the adventures of the valiant d’Artagnan and his three loyal friends.

The latest translation in Lawrence Ellsworth’s acclaimed new series of Alexandre Dumas’ greatest adventures is Blood Royal, the second half of what Dumas originally published as Twenty Years After. In this volume, all the plots and schemes set up in the previous novel come to dramatic fruition in the kind of exciting thrill ride Dumas is famous for - while at the same time introducing the characters and themes that form the foundation of the rest of the series, leading to its great climax in The Man in the Iron Mask.

In Blood Royal, the Four Musketeers all venture to England on parallel missions to save King Charles I, pursued by the murderous and vengeful Mordaunt, the son of Milady de Winter, the great villain of The Three Musketeers. Despite all his experience, d’Artagnan is repeatedly foiled by the much-younger Mordaunt, who erupts out of the past to embody the strengths of audacity and cunning that were once d’Artagnan’s hallmarks. Mordaunt has corrupted those youthful strengths, and the older d’Artagnan is no match for him until he is able to pull his former team together again. To do this, d’Artagnan will have to become a true leader of men, leading not just by example, but also by foresight, persuasion, and compromise. Only then can the team of Athos, Porthos, and Aramis be reformed in all its might to defeat the specter of their past.

Blood Royal is unmatched in Dumas' oeuvre in its depictions of his most famous and beloved characters and is an unforgettable saga of swordplay, suspense, revenge, and ultimate triumph.

©2020 Lawrence Schick (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

This is a great story.

I first read this in the 11th grade. Listening to it on Audiobook was a pleasure. It is a great story.

An Excellent stopping point!

Perfect in every vector! Great Narration, excellent story and phenomenal characters!
If you have gone through the series up to this point from Three Musketeers and like like happy endings with a good wrap up to your series, stop right here at the end of this charming book!

Translation and John Lee's delivery are superb!

A fantastic follow-on to the previous novels in this great Alexander Duma series. Looking forward to Between Two Kings.

Worth being split into two books!

Everything about this book is amazing - the story, dialogue, translation and narration. Yes, it is annoying that they split the book into two audiobooks, but it’s good enough that it is worth it (and part I is currently free to all Audible members). Enjoy!

One of the best series ever created

anyone who loves swashbuckling adventure, well developed characters, and an entirely original story. will love this entire series. this book was hard to find but well worth it. everyone should read this entire series at some point in their life