The Knight of Maison-Rouge

The Knight of Maison-Rouge follows the tried and tested formula of the majority of Dumas's work. A great romance, revenge, conspiracies and heroic deaths all litter the landscape. In this book, the two heroes reminded me of those from La Reine Margot. I'll leave out the reasons why, in case I give anything away. The Knight... is typical Dumas, but I would not go so far as to say that it is Dumas at his best. Even so, he remains irresistibly readable, creating a slick world which the reader is easily sucked into, caring about the fates of the heroes with a few twists along the way.

A lot of the time in the works of Dumas, women play a strong part in the fortunes of the main characters. Perhaps this evident when Lorin quotes Francis I of France when he says:

"Woman is so apt to change
Whoever trusts her is completely deranged."

My major complaint is to do with the ending; I think that perhaps the wrong person was revenged upon, or perhaps more revenge should have been meted out. But, if heroic romantic adventure novels are your thing, or like me, you hunger for any new Dumas tale to dig your teeth into, then by all means, give this a try. If you are not sure whether to take the plunge, here is one of my favourite exchanges in the tale:

"He's threatening me!" cried Simon. "Guards! Guards!"
"I am the guard," said Lorin. "So I wouldn't call me if I were you, because if I come any closer to you, I'll exterminate you!"