Historical Account Accuracy within the Historical Fiction Novel

By: Mr. Malone

Though The Three Musketeers was a fictional story, much of the history portrayed in the novel remains true to historical account.

Cardinal Richelieu’s private guards did have a rivalry with the King’s Musketeers. Cardinal Richelieu did not plot secret schemes in order to go to war with England, as the novel states, but he did use the King’s trust in

Cardinal Richelieu

order to start a war with the Holy Roman Empire. King Louis XIII became extremely ill during 1625 and Cardinal Richelieu became the dominating force in French political decisions. The novel portrays the King as too trusting and slightly inept, but in reality, he was simply ill.

The novel underplays the true back story between King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu, and Queen Anne. Queen Anne was Austrian, which meant that France had an alliance with Austria, even though they were a competing world power at the time. Cardinal Richelieu had religious differences with King Louis XIII’s mother (who was from the prominent Italian Medici family). King Louis was fairly young during the time of The Three Musketeers (only 24 years old), so his experience as a king would have been minimal, which is another reason that he relied so much on Cardinal Richelieu’s advice.

In the novel, Cardinal Richelieu disbands the Musketeers in an attempt to seize power from the King, but in reality, he sent the Musketeers and other agents to suppress political opposition in order to show the country that the King had all the power. But behind closed doors, Cardinal Richelieu wanted the French Church to have more authority.

The novel’s conflict between France and England is historically inaccurate. Actually, during 1625, France was engulfed in the Thirty Years’ War with the Holy Roman Empire, not England. Later, France and England would renew their rivalry, but not during the time period in which The Three Musketeers takes place.

Overall, The Three Musketeers remained true to the historical accounts of the era. Alexandre Dumas embellished Cardinal Richelieu’s motives for his advice to the King, which made him a villain in the novel. Dumas also used real Musketeer experiences to create fictional Musketeer characters. Though secret trades and deals did occur in French politics during the 17th century, the particular secret deals and correspondences in the novel were fabricated in order to create an exciting plot and develop romance.

Characters

By: Mr. Malone

The Musketeers of Dumas’ novel were based on a real sword-wielding force whose aim was to protect the King of France. The Musketeer characters, however, were fictionalized for the novel. D’Artagnan, Athos,

Athos, Aramis, d'Artagnan, and Porthos

Porthos, and Aramis were not real people, according to historical account. According to History Revealed, the novel’s musketeers were based on real Musketeers that served in the 1640s (15 years after the novel takes place).

Aside from the title characters, most other characters in the novel were real and acted in the same manner in which they are described in various historical accounts. King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu, and Queen Anne all existed during this historical time period.

King Louis XIII

King Louis XIII served as King of France from 1610 to 1643 and would have been 25 years old during the novel’s setting. Since he was a young king, Cardinal Richelieu influenced his decisions heavily, though in reality, the Cardinal persuaded King Louis to start a war against the Holy Roman Empire, not with England as the novel suggests.

Cardinal Richelieu

Cardinal Richelieu, who served as Chief Minister to the King starting in 1624, actually used questionable political ethics to gain political power, just as the novel implies. He was notorious for his ambition in politics; however, historical accounts suggest that he was fiercely loyal to King Louis XIII (not against the King, as the novel describes). Another accurate depiction between the novel and historical accounts revolve around the real character, Monsieur de Treville, who actually tried to assassinate Cardinal Richelieu in 1642.

As in the novel, Queen Anne wanted her husband (King Louis XIII) to dismiss Cardinal Richelieu because he supported countries that fought against her native Austria.

Overall, the three main historical accuracies lie with King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu, and Queen Anne; the Three Musketeers were fictionalized, but their exploits were based on real people.

Setting

By: Mr. Malone

The Three Musketeers takes place in Paris, France, which was home to the French government. During this time, the French monarchy lived in Paris, as did major religious leaders and influential political advisers. The real Musketeers were stationed in Paris, as were the Cardinal’s personal guards.

17th Century Paris

Paris was the center for French culture and enriched living, but the novel makes Paris seem a bit downtrodden when d’Artagnan enters the city. The common citizens of Paris were more wealthy than the peasants that lived in the countryside of France, but Parisians during 1625 still ate simple meals like bread and cheese. Sanitation was extremely low, as plumbing and running water had yet to be refined.

Luxury Palace of 17th Century Paris

During the early 17th Century, Paris was experiencing an increase in its standard of living. Culture was booming, and France was becoming a major European power, as it started to battle with its neighboring nations. This meant that Paris was a center for literature, art, and educated thinking; the novel does not emphasize this fact.

The novel accurately describes the compact living space in Paris. It was densely populated and many people lived in multi-level, apartment-style buildings. Overall, Dumas wrote about Parisian lifestyle with accuracy.

Time Period

By: Mr. Malone

Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers takes place in 1625. Overall, the author accurately incorporates elements of that time period in his novel.

Popular 17th Century Parisian Fashion

The technology depicted in The Three Musketeers paralleled the historical account, but certain details were excluded from the novel. Indoor plumbing was not available in 17th Century Europe, so European cities (like Paris) were dirty. Dumas downplayed the bad smells and gritty dirt roads that would have plagued Paris at this time. Transportation was accurately represented in the novel, as the characters rode on horses and in carriages.

The novel’s depiction of popular clothing during this time period is accurate; men wore tunics and wide-brimmed hats, while women wore smock and bonnets. Dumas accurately portrayed the European economy as well. Most Europeans did not have surplus money or goods because most common citizens were subsistence farmers or artisans.

Another emphatic portion of city life in the novel is the duel. Duels were actually common among the

Three Musketeers duel against the Cardinal's Guards

aristocracy, just as portrayed in the novel, though it’s unlikely that the Musketeers would have participated in a duel with a commoner like d’Artagnan. Typically, only soldiers carried swords into public, but it’s possible that d’Artagnan would have had a sword, as he was looking to become a Musketeer.

Dumas’ depiction of European politics during this time period was fairly accurate. Spain, a former world superpower, was in the midst of a downfall because its gold and silver surplus from the New World was dwindling. France declared war on Spain ten years after the novel was set. France was beginning to see profits from its overseas colonies, while Italy (who France battled during this time period) was comprised of individual city-states (which makes the novel’s depiction of Italy less than historically accurate).