Lot n° 158
Estimation :
60000 - 80000
EUR
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Result
: 83 000EUR
Alexandre DUMAS père (1802-1870) - TWENTY YEARS AFTER, conti - Lot 158
Alexandre DUMAS père (1802-1870) - TWENTY YEARS AFTER, continuation of TROIS MOUSQUETAIRES
Autograph manuscript consisting of 90 folios (42.1 x 28.2 cm) on light blue paper (written on the front only), numbered 1 to 88, plus two additional folios numbered 33bis and 50bis, both with a few lines of text added on the back.
The manuscript, which contains erasures and corrections, represents the complete text of the first eleven chapters of the original edition of the novel published by BAUDRY, libraire-éditeur in Paris, in 1845, and corresponds to the text of volume 1 and the beginning of volume 2 of this edition.
This is the second part of the Les Mousquetaires trilogy, to be followed by Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, published between 1847 and 1850.
Marginal differences remain between the manuscript text and Baudry's original edition, probably due to final corrections made by Dumas at the time of printing. The novel had previously appeared in serial form in the newspaper Le Siècle, starting in January 1845.
Provenance and authentication
The manuscript, folded in half, is in a flexible folder marked "Manuscrit d'Al. Dumas - 20 ans après - 1er Vol." was acquired by Mr. Louis A. LAVILLE in December 1965 from M. Georges SARASSAT, antique dealer in Montluçon.
After being authenticated by Mr. Michel CASTAING of Maison CHARAVAY as being in Alexandre Dumas's own hand, the manuscript was placed in an in-4° polished red half-chagrin folder, spine with false nerves, author, title and date stamped in gold between the false nerves: "A. DUMAS - VINGT ANT - 1er Vol. DUMAS - VINGT ANS APRÈS - MANUSCRIT DE L'AUTEUR - 1845", produced by M. LOUIS A. LAVILLE's bookbinder. LAVILLE, whose name is inscribed inside the binding, at the bottom of the second cover.
From the serial published in Le Siècle to the Baudry edition.
Following the success of Les Trois Mousquetaires, editions of Vingt ans après were published in Brussels in April 1845, in in-12 format, using texts supplied by Dumas to the newspaper Le Siècle. These "hijacked" editions were published ahead of Baudry's original edition, which was not to appear until after Dumas had finished revising his text, making a number of significant changes.
State of preservation
Double-protected, the leaves have been preserved in very good condition, with the exception of the first leaf, which has half a centimeter of frayed lateral edges and a four-centimeter crack at the top.
Chapters of the manuscript
LE FANTÔME DE RICHELIEU.., pp. 1 to 18 - UNE RONDE DE NUIT, pp. 19 to 25 - DEUX ANCIENS ENNEMIS, pp. 26 to 27 - ANNE D'AUTRICHE A QUARANTE-SIX ANS, pp. 28 to 30 - GASCON ET ITALIEN, pp. 30 to 37 and 33 bis - D'ARTAGNAN A QUARANTE ANS, pp. 38 to 47 - D'ARTAGNAN EST EMBARRASSÉ, MAIS UNE DE NOS ANCIENNES CONNAISSANCES LUI VIEN EN AIDE, pp. 48 to 57 and 50 bis - THE DIFFERENT INFLUENCES THAT HALF A PISTOL CAN HAVE ON A BEDEAU AND ON A CHILD WITH A HEART, pp. 57 to 63 - HOW D'ARTAGNAN, WHILE LOOKING FAR AWAY FROM ARAMIS, UNDERSTOOD THAT HE WAS IN CROUPS BEHIND PLANCHET, pp. 64 to 70 - L'ABBÉ D'HERBLAY, pp. 71 to 79 - LES DEUX GASPARDS, pp. 79 to 88.
'' Twenty years later ''
The year is 1648. Louis XIII and Richelieu, who had governed France with an iron fist, are no longer there. The king is only ten years old. While waiting for his majority, Anne of Austria, who wants to preserve the monarchy and absolutism, will rely on Mazarin, the new Prime Minister. The Fronde begins! The princes and nobility wanted to regain their privileges, the Parliament aspired to English-style independence, and the people, provoked by tax hikes. You can hear the street murmuring and beginning to shout "Down with Mazarin!
In England, the situation was far worse. Cromwell took power, dissolved Parliament and installed a dictatorship. Charles I will be executed on February 9, 1649, and the royalty will be abolished.
Faced with the seriousness of the situation in France Mazarin will have to react if he wants to save the queen, the young king, and himself.
Alone in the grand cabinet of the Palais-Royal, after much reflection, he will ask for Lieutenant d'Artagnan, who is still a member of the King's Company of Musketeers, even though his former friends have left. And will ask him to seek out his three former comrades-in-arms, to reconstitute the quartet that saved Anne of Austria's honor during the affair of the ferrets, unwisely offered to the Duke of Buckingham.
Not without difficulties, d'Artagnan will find his former comrades-in-arms, who have changed a lot. Porthos, now Monsieur du Vallon de Bracieux, dreams of becoming a baron. Aramis, alias the Abbé d'Herblay, has become involved with the scheming Madame de Longueville. Athos, finally, after being married for a te
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