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This review concerns the edition of the book and NOT the book itself.

The hardback edition "Buccaneer Books" turned out to be severely abridged. No indication of this was given; it is a poor substitution for the real thing, which I only discovered after doing some additional research on the musketeer books and realized many of the key points and dialogue were missing from what I had read. A serious disappointment. By the time I discovered what I had missed, it was too late to return the book.

A disappointment!

Twenty Years After (1845) is the bestselling sequel to "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870). Dumas is the king of romantic fiction and a true renaissance man; author, lover of many women, gourmand, world traveler and bon viviant.
The story the seventeenth century musketeers is told in five huge novels:
1. The Three Musketeers
2. Twenty Years After
3. The Vicomte de Bragelonne (he is the son of Athos)
4. Louise de Valliere (she is the beloved of Bragelonne and the mistress of King Louis XIV)
5. The Man in the Iron Mask

The Major Players in Twenty Years After:
Two decades have passed since we have seen the musketeers in action. What has happened?
D'Artagnan-He is now a lieutenant in the musketters
Athos-He is retired and living on his estate-we learn his wife was the infamous Milady.
Aramais-He has taken holy orders and is involved in political and ecclesiastical affairs.
Porthos-The rich lawyer's widow he wed has died. He spend his time hunting, fishing, drinking copious amounts of wine and enjoying life as a gigantic hedonist.

The Major threads of the complicated plot (the book is 788 small print pages in the Oxford Classics Edition)
A civil war is raging in France between the Fronde and the royal rulership of Louis XIV (a child in this book); his mother Anne of Austria widow of Louis XIII and the wily Cardinal Mazarin (an Italian who has taken over for the deceased Cardianl Richelieu.

The four musketeer friends are divided in their loyalties with D'Artagnan and Porthos supporting Mazarin while Aramis and Athos support the Fronde. This changes as D'Artagnan and Porthos come to opppose Mazarin.
All the musketeers travel to England in a futile attempt to save Charles I from the scaffold. They are enemies of the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. T
The arch enemy is the evil Mordaunt son of Milady. He kills his uncle de Winter and Dumas portrays him as the executioner of Charles I! (this is fiction not reality!-Dumas twists historical facts to meet the needs of his tale of derring do).
I did not find a dull page anywhere within the covers of this massive tome! The edition contains valuable notes and a listing of historical personages mentioned in the text!
Dumas is a joy to read! Viva Muketeeers!!! One for all and all for one!

Not as good as the Three Musketeers, but I liked it. This edition (free Kindle edition)had one thing that irritated me. The name d'Artagnan is spelled with lower case d. And, if you insist on using capital D, at least do it every time!
Enough of that.
I found this book a little confusing. There were a lot of names. Somethimes, they were on the same side as the heroes, before they (either the bi-characters, or the main characters) suddenly changed side. I think I should have made a chart, as I read it quite slowly, I truly had some problems remembering where I had read about the different names.
That being said, it was entertaining, I laughed many a time. I also like the fact that the characters aren't perfect. Far from it.
Speaking of the characters, they are somewhat changed since book one. At least, d'Artagnan and Porthos are different. Porthos is more muscles and less brain, and d'Artagnan is more brain and leader.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

This highly-pleasing sequel to The Three Musketeers should please any fan of Dumas. While including most of the same characters as that first book of the series, this one presents a significantly different reading experience. With a more complex plot, somewhat less 'action', and a greater degree of political intrigue, TWENTY YEARS AFTER is really a more mature book than its predecessor. Two decades after the close of THE THREE MUSKETEERS, we find our heroes living individual (and somehow unfulfilling) lives apart from one another. As d'Artagnan decides that he's had enough of living in the shadows of his old exploits, and decides to take a more active role in present day politics, the current adventure begins. After reintroducing us to each of Athos, Porthos, and Aramis as d'Artagnan tries to recruit them for new adventures, Dumas sets in motion events that see our heroes intricately involved in world events that will shape the future of Europe.

One of the most interesting aspects of TWENTY YEARS AFTER is the growth of d'Artagnan. From the wide-eyed and inexperienced young man of THE THREE MUSKETEERS, d'Artagnan has become a seasoned and extremely confident soldier by the start of this one. While maintaining his rascaliness, he has developed a sharp wit and a rather devious imagination. Indeed, you will see that it is d'Artagnan's strong mind that enables him to succeed more than his strong arm in this book (as opposed to THE THREE MUSKETEERS). Here d'Artagnan is actually looked to as the de facto leader of the intrepid foursome that before he only wanted to follow. This more developed d'Artagnan now rivals the Count of Monte Cristo as my favorite Dumas character.

As a piece of historical fiction, TWENTY YEARS AFTER is much more demanding than THE THREE MUSKETEERS. Those without a fairly strong foundation in mid 17th century French and English history might find themselves somewhat lost as Dumas expects a certain amount of knowledge of the setting in his readers. In this aspect, the Oxford World's Classic edition will help immensely (see below). While the reader is still treated to a grand adventure, with all of the aspects that readers of Dumas expect, the enjoyment of this book will only be enhanced by a good understanding of the history behind this work and the implications it has on the future. Throughout TWENTY YEARS AFTER, d'Artagnan and company find themselves intimately involved in major historical events and typically influencing their outcome.

As usual, this Oxford World's Classics edition is excellent. With valuable explanatory notes and a detailed list of characters in the back of the book, you'll be able to navigate this complex story with a greater level of understanding than would be likely with the text only. The explanatory notes are denoted with a simple "*", and remain inconspicuous while reading the story, not distracting the reader like same-page notes have a tendency to do. You'll find that depending on your mood or your curiosity, you might or might not flip to the back of the book to look up individual notes.

If you enjoyed THE THREE MUSKETEERS, let the adventure continue with this excellent book! Highly recommended.