I read this book once before, but I don't remember it at all.
Rereading it, I can only wonder how I once gave it 5 stars. It starts off with an interesting premise - Charles, a young adult who has just left home for the first time, finds himself in the middle of the bloody French Revolution. Even worse, the man he has been sent to who is to tutor him and protect him is one of the leaders of the local killings. Without giving anything away, the story rolls along well for awhile, with Dumas showing his well-known skill of blending fact and fiction seamlessly. But when the story hits the frontlines, and more and more pages are dedicated to battles in places of I've never heard of, led by generals I won't remember, I found myself browsing and skimming to get through. It started reading more like a dry history book and less like a gripping novel.
Occasionally, Charles would reappear and you'd catch a glimpse of what this book could have been, but soon it would devolve back into the dull battle scenes and my attention faded. Barely 75% through the first book, I've given up. Life is too short to slog through bad books! ( )

Illustrated with a frontispiece in photogravure, each illustration has tissue guard printed with caption. Very attractive binding in black cloth with floral decoration on covers and spines in light green and orange. Spine titles are gold, most very bright, a few slightly rubbed.