So what is The First Musketeer actually about?
The First Musketeer is a mini series, to be released in 2014. It is a prequel to The Three Musketeers, set around 6 years before Alexandre Dumas’ novel. It is an origin story for the three main characters and uses the back stories provided throughout Dumas’ Musketeer books to track back in time to when the Three Musketeers first met. Similarly to Dumas, we have also used real historical events to inspire the adventures that our young Musketeers go on, the first of which leads them to the younger Richelieu, who has been banished from the court in Paris to Avignon.
For those of you not as familiar with the books here is a character breakdown for the original characters in Dumas’ books, to explain where they are when we first meet them. Be warned; there may be the occasional book spoiler if you read ahead!
Character Breakdown:
Athos: Athos is a troubled young man, who has run away from his old life as the Comte de la Fere, after a tragic event involving a mysterious young woman named Anne.
Porthos: Porthos is a contradiction. He likes nothing more than to show off, but keeps his real life a mystery. He hides behind a gilded exterior, and wishes for nothing more than to one day become a rich nobleman.
Aramis: Aramis is studying to take his Holy Orders in the church. Unfortunately his penchant for attractive women has a tendency to get in the way of his religious path.
Richelieu: Most people will know this character as the powerful Cardinal Richelieu, but in our series he is not yet a Cardinal, and is the Bishop of Lucon. King Louis XIII is currently on the throne, but ascending to the throne at such a young age meant that his mother, Queen Marie, had to act as regent. Growing angry at the Queen’s hold on power, King Louis XIII and his favourite courtier, Charles D’Albert, The Duke of Luynes, had the Queen banished to Blois, along with her closest allies, and due to Richelieu’s close relationship with Marie he too was sent off to Avignon.
Anne de Breuil/Milady De Winter: Anne is a character from Athos’ past. He meets her in his village and falls in love with her. After marrying her he discovers that she is not all she pretends to be, which causes a tragic event leading to the fall of Athos (then known as Olivier, the Comte de la fere) as he runs away from his old life in an attempt to escape the memories of his past.
Tagged: Alexandre Dumas, Aramis, Athos, BBC The Musketeers, Charles Barrett, D'Artagnan, Edward Mitchell, Historical Epic, Historical Fiction, Louis XIII, Milady De Winter, Porthos, Ryan Spong, The First Musketeer, The Musketeers, The Three Musketeers
