D'Artagnan
Publisher
:
Tallandier
Parution date
:
2002
EAN
:
9782847340310
Description
The subject of numerous publications around the world, The Three Musketeers, the famous trilogy by Alexandre Dumas, has been translated into ninety-two languages. What few realize is that the lead character D’Artagnan was actually real. Dumas discovered him while researching the story of Louis XIV in the Bibliothèque Royale (Royal Library). He unearthed documents by Gatien de Courtilz pertaining to the life of D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. These documents incited him to write about his existence in his introduction to The Three Musketeers. Unfortunately, most of Dumas’ account is a product of the master’s imagination and Courtilz’s own work presents major errors. D’Artagnan’s life left much to be desired compared to the one given to him by Dumas. Born Charles de Batz Count d’Artagnan around 1613, he was the official captain of the praised Volière Royal (the King’s army). As the leader of a royal company of musketeers, he had the honor of arresting Fouquet. He was one time governor of the city of Lille, and participated in the Deutsch war. He died heroically in Maastricht. In Le Véritable D’Artagnan, Jean-Christian Petitfils takes Dumas’ work one step further as he explores the original sources, manuscripts and archives available on D’Artagnan. The discoveries he made are rich in unpublished documents allowing the author to successfully place the real D’Artagnan back in history. Now in its third printing, Le Véritable D’Artagnan won the Prix de L’Académie française in 1982.
Author
Jean-Christian Petitfils : A historian and Ph.d in political science, Jean-Christian Petitfils is the author of several biographies on figures of the Grand Siècle and Ancien Régime such as Le Régent, Lauzun, Madame de Montespan, Louise de la Vallière, Louis XIV, Fouquet… He also collaborated in the writing of Règne de Louis XIV (1661-1715) published by Tallandier.
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