Twenty Years After

Twenty Years After is a historical adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in 1845. It is the second major installment in the d'Artagnan Romances.

Two decades after their first adventures, France is governed by Cardinal Mazarin during the young Louis XIV's minority. D'Artagnan remains a lieutenant with limited prospects and recruits Porthos for royal service, hoping that a successful mission will finally bring them advancement.

Athos and Aramis, however, support the Fronde against Mazarin. The four former companions meet again on opposing sides, and their friendship must survive political convictions that cannot simply be ignored.

The conflict carries them from unrest in Paris to the final phase of the English Civil War, where they attempt to help King Charles I. They are also pursued by Mordaunt, the vengeful son of Milady de Winter, who holds the musketeers responsible for his mother's fate.

Dumas preserves the escapes, disguises, and rapid reversals of The Three Musketeers, but gives the sequel a more reflective tone. Its heroes are older, separated by experience, and forced to ask whether their famous bond can remain stronger than ambition, civil conflict, and revenge.

This is book 2 in the d'Artagnan Romances.