Twenty Years After

Two decades after a brash young adventurer teamed with master swordsmen Athos, Porthos, and Aramis to defeat Cardinal Richelieu and his seductive spy, Milady de Winter, France stands on the brink of civil war. Inspired by Oliver Cromwell’s persecution of King Charles I in England, bloodthirsty crowds threaten the youthful monarch, Louis XIV; his regent mother, Queen Anne; and their devious chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin.
To protect the sovereignty of the crown, Mazarin commissions D’Artagnan to find the three Musketeers and return them to the queen’s service. The mission takes on an even greater urgency when the vengeful Mordaunt, son of Milady, picks up the quartet’s trail. From a dramatic duel in London to an explosive showdown on the English Channel to a climactic confrontation in the streets of Paris, D’Artagnan and his friends wage an epic battle on behalf of truth, honor, and justice.
"Now an enemy is never so near and consequently so threatening, as when he has completely disappeared."
— Alexandre Dumas (Twenty Years After)

Alexandre Dumas père, born in 1802 as Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was one of the most celebrated French writers of the 19th century. The son of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas—the highest-ranking man of African descent in a European army—he was raised in poverty after his father’s death but carried a strong sense of pride in his heritage. Moving to Paris, Dumas began his career in theater, achieving early success with plays like Henri III et sa cour. In the 1840s, he shifted to serialized novels, collaborating with Auguste Maquet to produce enduring classics like The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo in 1844.
His D’Artagnan Romances became defining works of the adventure genre, mixing historical events with gripping plots and colorful characters. Dumas was a prolific writer, producing thousands of pages across fiction, plays, travelogues, and a vast culinary dictionary. Despite literary fame, his lavish lifestyle led to ongoing financial struggles. Proud of his mixed-race ancestry, he confronted racism openly and explored themes of identity in works like Georges. In his later years, Dumas continued writing and supporting nationalist causes. He died in 1870, leaving behind a monumental legacy in world literature.