The Red Sphinx

by Alexandre Dumas

Overview

In 1844, Alexandre Dumas published The Three Musketeers, a novel so famous and still so popular today that it scarcely needs introduction. Shortly thereafter he wrote a sequel, Twenty Years After. Later, toward the end of his career, Dumas wrote The Red Sphinx, another direct sequel to The Three Musketeers that begins a mere twenty days afterward. Picking up right where the The Three Musketeers left off, The Red Sphinx continues the stories of Cardinal Richelieu, Queen Anne, and King Louis XIII—and introduces a charming new hero, the Comte de Moret, a real historical figure from the period. Dumas wrote seventy-five chapters of The Red Sphinx, but never quite finished it and the novel languished for almost a century. While Dumas never completed the book, he had earlier written a separate novella, The Dove, that recounts the final adventures of Moret and Cardinal Richelieu.Now for the first time in one cohesive narrative, The Red Sphinx and The Dove make a complete and satisfying storyline—a rip-roaring novel of historical adventure, heretofore unknown to English-language readers, by the great Alexandre Dumas, king of the swashbucklers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681773667
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	01/03/2017
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	832
Sales rank:	780,580
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

One of the most famous French writers of the nineteenth century, Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) first achieved success in the literary world a playwright, before turning his hand to writing novels. In two years from 1844 to 1845, he published two enormous books, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. Both novels have sold millions of copies worldwide.
One of the most famous French writers of the nineteenth century, Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) first achieved success in the literary world as a playwright, before turning his hand to writing novels. In two years from 1844 to 1845, he published two enormous books, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. Both novels have sold millions of copies worldwide.

Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

Part I The Red Sphinx 1

I The Inn of the Painted Beard 3

II What Came of the Proposition the Stranger Made to Étienne Latil 11

III In Which the Gentleman Hunchback Realizes His Error in Desiring the Death of the Comte de Moret 19

IV The Hotel de Rambouillet 29

V What Occurred in the Hotel de Rambouillet as Souscarrières Was Disposing of His Third Hunchback 40

VI Marina and Jacquelino 54

VII Stairs and Corridors 64

VIII His Majesty King Louis XIII 74

IX What Passed in Queen Anne of Austria's Bedchamber After the Departure of King Louis 86

X Letters Read Aloud and Letters Read Alone 92

XI The Red Sphinx 102

XII His Gray Eminence 115

XIII In Which Madame Cavois Becomes Partner to Monsieur Michel 125

XIV In Which the Cardinal Begins to See the Chessboard Clearly 135

XV The State of Europe in 1628 143

XVI Marie de Gonzague 156

XVII The Commencement of the Comedy 172

XVIII Isabelle and Marina 181

XIX In Which Monseigneur Gaston, Like King Charles IX, Puts On His Little Comedy 188

XX Eve and the Serpent 195

XXI In Which the Cardinal Uses, on His Own Behalf, the Invention for Which He'd Granted Souscarrières the Patent 203

XXII The In Pace 217

XXIII Her Story 228

XXIV Maximilien de Béthune, Baron de Rosny, Due de Sully 241

XXV The Two Eagles 253

XXVI The Cardinal in His Dressing Gown 264

XXVII The Demoiselle de Gournay 277

XXVIII Souscarrieres's Report 284

XXIX The King Goes Larding 296

XXX As the King Was Larding 307

XXXI The Shop of Ildefonse Lopez 313

XXXII Advice from a Jester 326

XXXIII The Confession 336

XXXIV In Which Cardinal Richelieu Writes a Comedy Without the Help of His Collaborators 346

XXXV The King's Council 358

XXXVI Vautier's Plan 369

XXXVII The Overlooked Wisp of Straw, the Unnoticed Grain of Sand 376

XXXVIII Richelieu's Resolution 384

XXXIX Birds of Prey 393

XL The King Reigns 403

XLI The Ambassadors 421

XLII A Royal Intermission 439

XLIII Et tu, Baradas? 449

XLIV How Étienne Latil and the Marquis de Pisany, Each Making His First Outing, Happened to Encounter Each Other 463

XLV The Cardinal at Chaillot 471

XLVI Mirame 480

XLVII News from the Court 489

XLVIII Why Louis XIII Always Dressed in Black 496

XLIX In Which the Cardinal Audits the King's Accounts 504

L The Avalanche 511

LI Guillaume Coutet 518

LII Marie Coutet 524

LII Why the Comte de Moret Went to Work on the Fortifications of Susa Pass 530

LIV An Episode in the Mountains 536

LV Souls and Stars 542

LVI The Giacon Bridge 548

LVII The Oath 554

LVIII The Journal of Monsieur de Bassompierre 560

LIX In Which the Reader Meets an Old Friend 568

LX In Which the Cardinal Finds the Guide He Needs 575

LXI Susa Pass 582

LXII In Which It Is Shown That a Man is Never Hanged Until the Noose is Tightened 588

LXIII The White Plume 594

LXIV What l'Angely Thought of the Compliments of the Duke of Savoy 602

LXV A Chapter of History 608

LXVI One Year Later 621

LXVII Old Lovers Reunited 628

LXVIII The Cardinal Takes the Field 634

LXIX The Empty Lair 640

LXX In Which the Comte de Moret Offers to Take a Mule and a Million to Fort Pinerolo 647

LXXI The Foster-Brother 654

LXXII The Eagle and the Fox 661

LXXIII "Aurora" 670

LXXIV The Letter and the Lure 679

Part II The Dove 689

Translator's Notes 777

Publication History 781

Dramatis Personae: Historical Character Notes 785

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/14/2016
Despite the subtitle, fans of Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D’Artagnan won’t find the legendary swashbucklers here. However, Dumas’s trademark gifts at crafting engaging historical romances are amply in evidence in this lengthy yet fast-paced volume that places at center stage the Machiavellian lead, Cardinal Richelieu. Ellsworth’s translation captures a complete narrative of the cardinal’s machinations directly after the events of The Three Musketeers by merging for the first time the original serial novel of The Red Sphinx with a separate story, The Dove, which had been written 15 years earlier. In 1628, Richelieu struggles to retain power in the face of a formidable array of foes, including Queen Anne and the queen mother, by seeking out the truth behind the assassination of Henri IV, the ostensible father of the current monarch. Dumas’s penchant for addressing his readers (“We hope our readers will forgive us, but we believe it is time to present King Louis XIII to them, and to devote a chapter to his strange personality”) remains endearing, and his wit helps sustain interest despite many fewer action sequences than in the author’s better-known works. A very entertaining epic. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"As far as I can tell, Lawrence Ellsworth is responsible for one of the biggest literary projects happening right now in the English language. Ellsworth is working on a massive and daunting scale. He’s translating the entirety of Alexandre Dumas’s stories of The Three Musketeers (1844), all 1.5 million words of it. The third volume, Twenty Years After, appeared late last year. In Ellsworth’s hands, these stories of swashbuckling and all-for-one-and-one-for-all friendship feel new again. The Three Musketeers is an enormously entertaining tale for the ages."

The Brooklyn Rail [Praise for Lawrence Ellsworth’s translations of Dumas's Musketeers series]

"Fans of The Three Musketeers can rejoice in the 800-page English translation of this largely forgotten sequel."

Newsday

"The Red Sphinx is wonderful. There’s plot and counter-plot, duels, passion, murder, romance, disguises, poets and assassins. Readable and compelling."

Historical Novels Review

"There is swash and buckle aplenty, and even plumage if that’s what does it for you. And it is great fun."

The Spectator

"A royal treat for fans of historical fiction. I am confident that librarians and English literature teachers around the world are leaping for joy at the publication of The Red Sphinx, and I join them in this excitement."

Bookreporter

"The Red Sphinx is a vivid and beautifully-crafted story dense with colorful characters and an irresistible charm."

Tony Cliff

"The Red Sphinx sparkles and shines in a new translation. Races along with pointed humor and broad quips. Fun permeates this big book. The rest of 2017's fiction will have to look sharp: An old master has just set the bar very, very high."

Christian Science Monitor

"Newly translated, a sequel to The Three Musketeers is as fresh as ever. In Lawrence Ellsworth’s excellent, compulsively readable translation, The Red Sphinx is just the book to see you through the January doldrums. And maybe those of February, too."

Michael Dirda

"The Red Sphinx is a vivid and beautifully-crafted story dense with colorful characters and an irresistible charm."--Tony Cliff, author of the 'New York Times' bestselling "Delilah Dirk" graphic novels

"The Red Sphinx is wonderful. There's plot and counter-plot, duels, passion, murder, romance, disguises, poets and assassins. Readable and compelling."-- "Historical Novels Review"

"The Red Sphinx sparkles and shines in a new translation. Races along with pointed humor and broad quips. Fun permeates this big book. The rest of 2017's fiction will have to look sharp: An old master has just set the bar very, very high."-- "Christian Science Monitor"

"A royal treat for fans of historical fiction. I am confident that librarians and English literature teachers around the world are leaping for joy at the publication of The Red Sphinx, and I join them in this excitement."-- "Bookreporter"

"As far as I can tell, Lawrence Ellsworth is responsible for one of the biggest literary projects happening right now in the English language. Ellsworth is working on a massive and daunting scale. He's translating the entirety of Alexandre Dumas's stories of The Three Musketeers (1844), all 1.5 million words of it. The third volume, Twenty Years After, appeared late last year. In Ellsworth's hands, these stories of swashbuckling and all-for-one-and-one-for-all friendship feel new again. The Three Musketeers is an enormously entertaining tale for the ages."-- "The Brooklyn Rail [Praise for Lawrence Ellsworth's translations of Dumas's Musketeers series]"

"Dumas's trademark gifts at crafting engaging historical romances are amply in evidence in this lengthy yet fast-paced volume. Ellsworth's translation captures a complete narrative. A very entertaining epic."-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

"Fans of The Three Musketeers can rejoice in the 800-page English translation of this largely forgotten sequel."-- "Newsday"

"There is swash and buckle aplenty, and even plumage if that's what does it for you. And it is great fun."-- "The Spectator"

"Newly translated, a sequel to The Three Musketeers is as fresh as ever. In Lawrence Ellsworth's excellent, compulsively readable translation, The Red Sphinx is just the book to see you through the January doldrums. And maybe those of February, too."--Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

From the Publisher

"As far as I can tell, Lawrence Ellsworth is responsible for one of the biggest literary projects happening right now in the English language. Ellsworth is working on a massive and daunting scale. He’s translating the entirety of Alexandre Dumas’s stories of The Three Musketeers (1844), all 1.5 million words of it. The third volume, Twenty Years After, appeared late last year. In Ellsworth’s hands, these stories of swashbuckling and all-for-one-and-one-for-all friendship feel new again. The Three Musketeers is an enormously entertaining tale for the ages."

The Brooklyn Rail [Praise for Lawrence Ellsworths translations of Dumas's Musketeers series]

"As far as I can tell, Lawrence Ellsworth is responsible for one of the biggest literary projects happening right now in the English language. Ellsworth is working on a massive and daunting scale. He’s translating the entirety of Alexandre Dumas’s stories of The Three Musketeers (1844), all 1.5 million words of it. The third volume, Twenty Years After, appeared late last year. In Ellsworth’s hands, these stories of swashbuckling and all-for-one-and-one-for-all friendship feel new again. The Three Musketeers is an enormously entertaining tale for the ages."

The Brooklyn Rail [Praise for Lawrence Ellsworth’s translations of Dumas's Musketeers series]

Newly translated, a sequel to The Three Musketeers is as fresh as ever. In Lawrence Ellsworth’s excellent, compulsively readable translation, The Red Sphinx is just the book to see you through the January doldrums. And maybe those of February, too.

Michael Dirda - The Washington Post

Fans of The Three Musketeers can rejoice in the 800-page English translation of this largely forgotten sequel.

Newsweek