'The Man in the Iron Mask' is the final episode in the cycle of novels featuring Dumas' celebrated foursome of D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, who first appeared in 'The Three Musketeers'. Some thirty-five years on, the bonds of comradeship are under strain as they end up on different sides in a power struggle that may undermine the young Louis XIV and change the face of the French monarchy. In the fast-paced narrative style that was his trademark, Dumas pitches us straight into the action. What is the secret shared by Aramis and Madame de Chevreuse? Why does the Queen Mother fear its revelation? Who is the mysterious prisoner in the Bastille? And what is the nature of the threat he poses? Dumas, the master storyteller, keeps us reading until the climactic scene in the grotto of Locmaria, a fitting conclusion to the epic saga of the musketeers. AUTHOR: Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) was a French writer renowned for his historical adventure stories, which have made him one of the most widely-read French authors in the world. Literary critics tend to dismiss his work, partly because of the sheer volume, but his novels have always been enormously popular and the huge number of film adaptions of his most famous works, including 'The Count of Monte Cristo' and 'The Three Musketeers', demonstrate the lasting appeal of his classic adventures.