The Man in the Iron Mask


Lu par Mark F. Smith

(4.6 stars; 536 reviews)

In this, the last of the Three Musketeers novels, Dumas builds on the true story of a mysterious prisoner held incognito in the French penal system, forced to wear a mask when seen by any but his jailer or his valet. If you have skipped the novels between The Three Musketeers and this, a few notes will bring you into the story:
On one side – Aramis, now a bishop and secretly the Captain-General of the Jesuit Order, who believes he has found a path to a higher honor – the papacy. Monsieur Fouquet, the vastly rich minister of finance, Aramis’ ally. Philippe, the identical twin of King Louis XIV, who grew up in ignorance of his pedigree, and whose surrogate parents were murdered on the king’s order and himself sent into the notorious Paris prison, the Bastille, there held in solitary confinement.
On the other side – King Louis XIV, selected as the twin who would be king by his mother, and who intends that his brother will never challenge him. Monsieur Colbert, first minister, who is jealous of Fouquet and plots his downfall.
Unaligned and in danger of collateral damage – d’Artagnan, now captain of the King’s Musketeers and so the king’s chief defender, who suspects plots running beneath the surface and who is trying to unearth them. Athos, now the Comte (Count) de la Fer and one of the most respected noblemen of France. Raoul, Athos’ son and vicomte (viscount), desperately in love with Mademoiselle de la Valliere, who the king has taken as his mistress. Porthos, grown extremely stout and happy as the Baron du Vallon.
Aramis discovers the hidden Philippe and hatches a plot to substitute him for the sitting king, putting Louis in Philippe’s cell in the Bastille. This even succeeds… for a short while. But Aramis has not reckoned with a man whose loyalty to the throne exceeds his own welfare and who disastrously reverses the plot. Now it is time for the plotters to scurry to cover, there to figure some way to recover their lost ambitions. (Summary written by Mark Smith.) (21 hr 1 min)

Chapitres

00 - Introduction 17:48 Lu par Mark F. Smith
01a – The Prisoner (Part 1) 33:54 Lu par Mark F. Smith
01b – The Prisoner (Part 2) 33:57 Lu par Mark F. Smith
02 – How Mouston Had Become Fatter 19:33 Lu par Mark F. Smith
03 – Who Messire Percerin Was 15:51 Lu par Mark F. Smith
04 – The Patterns 24:22 Lu par Mark F. Smith
05 – Where, Probably, Moliere Obtained His First Idea of the Bourgeois Gentilho… 15:08 Lu par Mark F. Smith
06 – The Bee-Hive, the Bees, and the Honey 22:27 Lu par Mark F. Smith
07 – Another Supper at the Bastille 17:51 Lu par Mark F. Smith
08 – The General of the Order 21:12 Lu par Mark F. Smith
09 – The Tempter 22:12 Lu par Mark F. Smith
10 – Crown and Tiara 19:45 Lu par Mark F. Smith
11 – The Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte 13:17 Lu par Mark F. Smith
12 – The Wine of Melun 13:29 Lu par Mark F. Smith
13 – Nectar & Ambrosia 11:17 Lu par Mark F. Smith
14 – A Gascon, and a Gascon and a Half 30:41 Lu par Mark F. Smith
15 – Colbert 15:37 Lu par Mark F. Smith
16 – Jealousy 16:14 Lu par Mark F. Smith
17 – High Treason 23:17 Lu par Mark F. Smith
18 – A Night at the Bastille 17:26 Lu par Mark F. Smith
19 – The Shadow of Monsieur Fouquet 41:12 Lu par Mark F. Smith
20 – The Morning 21:05 Lu par Mark F. Smith
21 – The King’s Friend 41:22 Lu par Mark F. Smith
22 – Showing How the Countersign Was Respected at the Bastille 18:55 Lu par Mark F. Smith
23 – The King’s Gratitude 20:42 Lu par Mark F. Smith
24 – The False King 24:58 Lu par Mark F. Smith
25 – In Which Porthos Thinks He Is Pursuing a Duchy 13:05 Lu par Mark F. Smith
26 – The Last Adieux 13:08 Lu par Mark F. Smith
27 – Monsieur de Beaufort 20:45 Lu par Mark F. Smith
28 – Preparations for Departure 21:05 Lu par Mark F. Smith
29 – Planchet’s Inventory 13:19 Lu par Mark F. Smith
30 – The Inventory of Monsieur de Beaufort 15:17 Lu par Mark F. Smith
31 – The Silver Dish 18:27 Lu par Mark F. Smith
32 – Captives and Jailers 23:21 Lu par Mark F. Smith
33 – Promises 28:58 Lu par Mark F. Smith
34 – Among Women 20:59 Lu par Mark F. Smith
35 – The Last Supper 17:20 Lu par Mark F. Smith
36 – In Monsieur Colbert’s Carriage 18:59 Lu par Mark F. Smith
37 – The Two Lighters 17:52 Lu par Mark F. Smith
38 – Friendly Advice 14:14 Lu par Mark F. Smith
39 – How the King, Louis XIV, Played His Little Part 20:13 Lu par Mark F. Smith
40 – The White Horse and the Black 18:57 Lu par Mark F. Smith
41 – In Which the Squirrel Falls, the Adder Flies 24:40 Lu par Mark F. Smith
42 – Belle Isle-en-Mer 23:59 Lu par Mark F. Smith
43 – Explanations by Aramis 26:54 Lu par Mark F. Smith
44 – Result of the Ideas of the King & the Ideas of D’Artagnan 6:39 Lu par Mark F. Smith
45 – The Ancestors of Porthos 10:18 Lu par Mark F. Smith
46 – The Son of Biscarrat 14:28 Lu par Mark F. Smith
47 – The Grotto of Locmaria 15:28 Lu par Mark F. Smith
48 – The Grotto 20:12 Lu par Mark F. Smith
49 – An Homeric Song 12:46 Lu par Mark F. Smith
50 – The Death of a Titan 16:09 Lu par Mark F. Smith
51 – Porthos’ Epitaph 17:05 Lu par Mark F. Smith
52 – Monsieur de Gesvre’s Round 14:02 Lu par Mark F. Smith
53 – Louis XIV 20:20 Lu par Mark F. Smith
54 – Monsieur Fouquet’s Friends 16:48 Lu par Mark F. Smith
55 – Porthos’ Will 14:46 Lu par Mark F. Smith
56 – The Old Age of Athos 13:58 Lu par Mark F. Smith
57 – Athos’ Vision 15:59 Lu par Mark F. Smith
58 – The Angel of Death 13:16 Lu par Mark F. Smith
59 – The Bulletin 15:41 Lu par Mark F. Smith
60 – The Last Canto of the Poem 15:31 Lu par Mark F. Smith
61a – Epilogue (Part 1) 31:30 Lu par Mark F. Smith
61b – Epilogue (Part 2) 31:42 Lu par Mark F. Smith

Critiques

Well read


(5 stars)

The reader did great. I was so disappointed with the ending though. A lot of things left unfinished by the writer in my opinion.

Why the Title


(3 stars)

The story was okay, but I think the title is misleading.


(4 stars)

Mark Smith is a great narrator. However, the man in the iron mask, to me, is a pretty horrible story. I didn’t like it very much.

Saddened by this last book in the series. Well read by Mark Smi


(5 stars)


(3 stars)

quite good but I'm disappointed that the brother was never mentioned again.

I found myself Incredibly dissatisfied by the ending.


(2.5 stars)

The Man in the Iron Mask


(5 stars)

what such an interesting book. I expected this to be similar to the Hollywood version, and was intrigued by all the subplots and twists. The story was made far more enjoyable by the readers' animations of the characters. I was also It was even more enjoyable in the fact that there was only one reader for the entire book,so I did not have to struggle through many accents and different characterisations characterizations. This reader is by far my favorite, with an excellent enuncitation, and meter. A truly enjoyable book and a superb reader. Thank you.

👍👍👍👍👍


(5 stars)

I got to the end of a chapter and Mark forgot to stop using his actor's voice when he said "end of chapter #" so when he came on the next chapter I was soooo sad to discover it wasn't read by Mark. then I realised it was still him. thanks Mark!