The Man in the Iron Mask

By: Alexandre Dumas

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Thirty-five years after the events of The Three Musketeers, d’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis find themselves caught between conflicting loyalties in a power struggle that could change the face of the French monarchy.

For eight long years, a young prisoner has languished within the dreaded Bastille, his face hidden in an iron mask. He knows neither his true identity nor the crime for which he has been imprisoned. But Aramis knows this secret—a secret so dangerous, it could topple the King from his throne! Will his cause divide the once indivisible band of musketeers?

A tale of mystery, adventure, and political intrigue, this conclusion to Dumas’ swashbuckling musketeer saga is based on the true story of a masked prisoner who dwelled in the Bastille during the Louis XIV’s reign and whose identity remains in question to this day.

Public Domain (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

This swashbuckling conclusion to Dumas’s musketeer saga pits the brave band of heroes against each other in a power struggle that could change the face of the French monarchy.

“No part of the world has ever seemed to me so charming as these pages, and not even my friends are quite so real, perhaps quite so dear, as d’Artagnan.” (Robert Louis Stevenson)

“The name Alexandre Dumas is more than French—it is universal.” (Victor Hugo)

The d'Artagnan Romances

The d'Artagnan Romances are everything you can hope for in a book series, Alexandre Dumas at his finest.

Emotional

It is a great book! Simon Vince is an incredible reader. I activly Search for the Book he reads.
I love the voices he makes helps concentrate and understand better

Closes the Loop on the Musketeers!

If you, like me, ever wondered what happened to the characters after the Three Musketeers...here's your answer! Just steel yourself, because Dumas throws a couple of curves into the mix.
Simon Vance is an accomplished narrator who does an excellent job with this classic.

A very well read book

If you read "The 3 Musketeers" this is a must. This version is very entertaining and very well read.

I enjoyed the finale of the D'Artagnan books

This last volume of the D'Artagnan books continues directly from the volume Louise de la Valliere. The story is engrossing with many plot twists. I enjoyed the whole series. One of the interesting aspects is that the characters are all complex, even our heroic musketeers. They are not saints, by far. Some of our heroes are quite greedy and even though they are such loyal friends, they allow selfishness and ambition to override the best interests of their friends. In particular, I'm thinking of how Aramis exploited Pothos' gullibility, as one example. But I think these types of ethical dilemmas are what make the book so interesting and the adventures so engrossing. I also found the amount of emotion and affection shown by some of the men most interesting - Athos' love for his son is one example. I don't know that men are always depicted this way - maybe French men are more demonstrative of their affection than the English, for example? All of these aspects make the characters well-developed and very human.
Add to that Simon Vance's superb reading - how does he manage to do all those voices and accents? - and the book gives you hours of wonderful listening pleasure.

Great story

Any additional comments?

This story was not as thrilling as The Count of Monte Cristo but still a very good story.

Not entertained

I was looking for an entertaining book or spin on the man in the iron mask. While the writing and narration was stellar, it's character building was painful for me.
I hit chapter 31 and I still hadn't hit the part of the story where the man in the iron mask is introduced so the 30 chapters of character building and back drop was far too much for me.
IMO, if you're looking for a possible historical take on what might have happened....this book would hit the mark. If you're looking for an entertainment piece - this 22 hour and 11 mins of writing was too painful and drawn out for me. There are 89 chapters and I quit after chapter 32. Definitely not worth the credit for what I wanted.

Finally, Dumas Came Back!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this to a friend because it wraps up D'artagnan and, in my opinion, is the second best in the series.

What other book might you compare The Man in the Iron Mask to and why?

I would compare it to nothing, it stands alone.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

D'artagnan of course but Porthos is a close second!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The entire last four hours of the book was riveting.

Any additional comments?

If you've read The Viscomte of Bragellon and Luis De La Valliere the Man in the Iron Mask will restore your confidence that Dumas can take the story out of the quaint and romantic setting of those works. If you've seen the movie, be prepared for some BIG surprises!

Better than any movie

I've seen many, many movies based on this story and each one has the same theme. The man in the Iron Mask was the kings twin. History doesn't know whether he was or not. So, a lot of movies were based on the whispering of the French nobility. So, I decided after listening too/reading Oliver Twist and finding it didn't match any movie I decided to do this book. I was surprised that the movies have it wrong. Imagine that? But what do they have wrong and write? Read and find out! I like the narrator of this book as he doesn't get the voices confused as he reads along. I can also understand why this book should be required reading in school.

more muskateers than mask

this was not a book about the man in the iron mask. it was 21 hours plus about the four muskateers the iron mask took up about one hour. If i had read the reviews first I would have known However I was going on the assumption from the movie adaptions that this would be about that story. if you are looking for an book about the iron mask this is not it. this is just more muskateers and their story. not a bad book but not what I was looking for and paid for and spent all that time listening to and waiting for me mask which never came.