Louise de la Valliere [Third Book of the D'Artagnan Romances: Chapters 141-207 (1661)]

Alexandre Dumas

It is the early summer of 1661, and the royal court of France is in turmoil. Can it be true that the King is in love with the Duchess D'Orleans? Or has his eye been caught by the sweet and gentle Louise de la Valliere? No one is more anxious to know the answer than Raoul, son of Athos, who loves Louise more than life itself. Behind the scenes, dark intrigues are afoot. Louis XIV is intent on making himself absolute master of France. Imminent crisis shakes the now aging Musketeers and d'Artagnan out of their complacent retirement, but is the cause just? [Book Three of the D'Artagnan Romances was serialized as four separate volumes in the magazine Le Siecle from October 1847 to January 1850: The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask.]