The Man in the Iron Mask


Read by Mark F. Smith

(4.6 stars; 260 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)

Chapters

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

Reviews

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

(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)

What a book! Well read! Enjoyed it. One must remind oneself this is not Hollywood nonsense but a representation of the scripts Dumas found. The book really is a good representation of life which not always go according to plan and not all endings will be happy endings! Enriching experience listening to this!

(4 stars)

excellent 5 star reading. While the beginning of the novel was great and enthralling, the second half left much to be desired, especially after having listened to all 6 novels and ~150 hours. Not enough loose strings tied up and too many characters that disappear part of the way through the novel.

Excellent reader

(5 stars)

The reader was excellent and had unique voices for the characters. The story was very exciting for the first 20 chapters, but got less exciting as it went on. Not as great a story as the first two books, but certainly better than the past three.

(4 stars)

Good story and a bit of a surprise as to how it ends. Can drag on at times and seems disjointed, but it all comes together in the end. The reader does an excellent job.

(4 stars)

Great reading, great story, but trouble loading the chapters. If loading worked it sometimes stopped in the middle of the reading or started again from the beginning of the chapter. A pity!

fabulous

(5 stars)

I am so happy I listened to them all. This story was epic and truly a great listen. Over 127 hours in total. Mark did his usual fabulous job.