Twenty Years After (French: Vingt ans après) is a historical adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized from January to August 1845. It is the second book in the d'Artagnan Romances, following The Three Musketeers (1844) and preceding The Vicomte de Bragelonne (which contains the famous Man in the Iron Mask subplot). The story reunites the four musketeers—d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—after two decades apart, during the turbulent period of the Fronde in France and the English Civil War. Once loyal comrades, they now find themselves on opposing political sides, with some serving Cardinal Mazarin and others backing the rebellious nobles or the doomed King Charles I of England.
Dumas weaves a complex tale of loyalty, honor, and political intrigue, as the musketeers must navigate a web of shifting allegiances while attempting to rescue Charles I from execution. The novel also introduces a new antagonist, Mordaunt, the vengeful son of Milady de Winter, who hunts the musketeers for killing his mother. Through the characters’ actions, Dumas explores themes of aging, lost ideals, and the cost of friendship against a richly detailed historical backdrop. Twenty Years After remains a beloved classic of swashbuckling literature, celebrated for its wit, action, and deeper emotional resonance compared to its more lighthearted predecessor.