The Man in the Iron Mask, by Alexander Dumas, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influencesโbiographical, historical, and literaryโto enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. France in the 1660s is a boiling cauldron of plots and counter-plots as King Louis XIV struggles to extend his power and transform himself into the โSun King.โ Locked within the dreaded Bastille prison may be his enemiesโ ultimate weapon: an anonymous prisoner forced to wear an iron mask so that none may see his faceโand learn his astonishing secret. But soon the famed dโArtagnan and the Three Musketeers are swept into the actionโbut not on the same side! Will they actually be forced to fight each other? As much a tale of mystery and political intrigue as a swashbuckling adventure, The Man in the Iron Mask is the final novel in Alexandre Dumasโs series of dโArtagnan romances. The story follows the heroic young man from the country who, along with his three comrades, becomes a powerful influence on the course of French history. Yet what seems to be the most fantastic aspect of the story is based on fact. During Louis XIVโs reign, a mysterious masked prisoner did dwell in the Bastille and his identity remains a question to this day. Barbara T. Cooper is Professor of French at the University of New Hampshire. A member of the editorial boards of Nineteenth-Century French Studies and Les Cahiers Alexandre Dumas, she specializes in nineteenth-century French drama and in works by Dumas.