The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers is the classic adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, set in the 17th century, about a young man named d'Artagnan who leaves home to become a guard of the musketeers. The titular characters are Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, yet when d'Artagnon joins them he technically becomes the Fourth Musketeer (which admittedly doesn't have as nice a ring to it). They are four great friends, war heros, booze hounds and womanizers; they save the honor of the Queen, foil dastardly plots, and get mixed up in affairs of state...and though they're called Musketeers, primarily go about using swords. This was a piece of historical fiction back when there wasn't really historical fiction, and Dumas lets the reader believe the story to be true in its opening. The characters are larger than life - some are real, but most are made up. All of them however are wonderful and unforgettable. An all around great adventure book. "All for one, and one for all!"