The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later Part One: The Vicomte of Bragelonne (Chapters 1-93) What can you tell me about this? After 35 years of loyal service, d'Artagnan resigns as lieutenant of the Musketeers as he perceives the young king Louis XIV as weak-willed. Why would that make him resign? I don't know. What happened next? He resolves to aid the exiled Charles II to retake the throne of England, unaware that Athos is attempting the same. How does he help Charles? With their assistance Charles II is restored to the throne and d'Artagnan is rewarded richly. What happened next? In France, Cardinal Mazarin has died, leaving Louis to assume power with Jean-Baptiste Colbert as his finance minister. How did he do once he was in power? Colbert has an intense hatred for his superior the king's Superintendent of Finances, Nicolas Fouquet, and tries to bring about his fall. Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? He brings to the king's attention that Fouquet is fortifying his fief of Belle Ile secretly. What did the king do? Louis persuades d'Artagnan to re-enter his service, and tasks him to investigate Belle Ile, promising him a substantial salary and promotion to Captain of the King's Musketeers on his return.
What did he find during his investigation?
What did d'Artagnan find during his investigation?
After 35 years of loyal service, d'Artagnan resigns as lieutenant of the Musketeers as he perceives the young king Louis XIV as weak-willed. He resolves to aid the exiled Charles II to retake the throne of England, unaware that Athos is attempting the same. With their assistance Charles II is restored to the throne and d'Artagnan is rewarded richly.  In France, Cardinal Mazarin has died, leaving Louis to assume power with Jean-Baptiste Colbert as his finance minister. Colbert has an intense hatred for his superior the king's Superintendent of Finances, Nicolas Fouquet, and tries to bring about his fall. He brings to the king's attention that Fouquet is fortifying his fief of Belle Ile secretly. Louis persuades d'Artagnan to re-enter his service, and tasks him to investigate Belle Ile, promising him a substantial salary and promotion to Captain of the King's Musketeers on his return. Louis, finally growing into a decisive ruler, also accepts an offer relayed by Athos from Charles II to marry his brother Philippe I, Duke of Orleans to Charles' sister Henrietta Anne Stuart.  D'Artagnan confirms that Belle Ile is being fortified and the architect ostensibly in charge is Porthos, though the blueprints show the handwriting of Aramis, who is now the bishop of Vannes. Aramis, suspicious of d'Artagnan, sends Porthos back to Paris to warn Fouquet, whilst tricking d'Artagnan into searching for Porthos around Vannes. Porthos warns Fouquet in the nick of time, and he cedes Belle Ile to the king, humiliating Colbert. On returning from the mission, d'Artagnan is made Captain of the King's Musketeers anyway.  Meanwhile, Princess Henrietta arrives in France escorted by the second Duke of Buckingham, to be met by an embassy consisting of Raoul de Bragelonne, his close friend Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche, and the Comte de Wardes, son of the previous Comte de Wardes from The Three Musketeers. The erratic Buckingham is madly in love with the princess and can scarcely conceal it, while Guiche soon finds himself equally smitten. Philippe, though little attracted to women, becomes horribly jealous of Buckingham and has him exiled after the wedding. CANNOTANSWER
D'Artagnan confirms that Belle Ile is being fortified and the architect ostensibly in charge is Porthos,
The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later ( ) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is the third and last of The d'Artagnan Romances, following The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After. It appeared first in serial form between 1847 and 1850.

In the English translations, the 268 chapters of this large volume are usually subdivided into three, but sometimes four or even six individual books. In three-volume English editions the volumes are entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Vallière, and The Man in the Iron Mask.  Each volume is roughly the length of the original The Three Musketeers (1844).

In four-volume editions volume names remain except that Louise de la Vallière and The Man in the Iron Mask move from second and third volumes to third and fourth, with Ten Years Later becoming the second volume.

Set in the 1660s and concerned with the early reign of Louis XIV, the novel has been called an "origins" story of the King, "a tale about the education of a young man who went on to rule for over 70 years and become one of France's most beloved monarchs." Naturally, in a novel about Dumas' musketeers, the characters play an important role in Louis' education.

Plot
The principal heroes of the novel are the musketeers.  The novel's length finds it frequently broken into smaller parts.  The narrative is set between 1660 and 1673 against the background of the transformation of Louis XIV from child monarch to Sun King.

Part One: The Vicomte of Bragelonne (Chapters 1–93)

After 35 years of loyal service, d'Artagnan resigns as lieutenant of the Musketeers as he perceives the young king Louis XIV as weak-willed.  He resolves to aid the exiled Charles II to retake the throne of England, unaware that Athos is attempting the same.  With their assistance Charles II is restored to the throne and d'Artagnan is rewarded richly.

In France, Cardinal Mazarin has died, leaving Louis to assume power with Jean-Baptiste Colbert as his finance minister.  Colbert has an intense hatred for his superior the king's Superintendent of Finances, Nicolas Fouquet, and tries to bring about his fall.  He brings to the king's attention that Fouquet is fortifying his fief of Belle Île secretly.  Louis persuades d'Artagnan to re-enter his service, and tasks him to investigate Belle Île, promising him a substantial salary and promotion to Captain of the King's Musketeers on his return.  Louis, finally growing into a decisive ruler, also accepts an offer relayed by Athos from Charles II to marry Louis' brother Philippe I, Duke of Orléans to Charles' sister Henrietta Anne Stuart.

D'Artagnan confirms that Belle Île is being fortified and the architect ostensibly in charge is Porthos, though the drawings show the handwriting of Aramis, who is now the bishop of Vannes.  Aramis, suspicious of d'Artagnan, sends Porthos back to Paris to warn Fouquet, whilst tricking d'Artagnan into searching for Porthos around Vannes.  Porthos warns Fouquet in the nick of time, and he cedes Belle Île to the king, humiliating Colbert.  On returning from the mission, d'Artagnan is made Captain of the King's Musketeers anyway.

Meanwhile, Princess Henrietta arrives in France escorted by the second Duke of Buckingham, to be met by an embassy consisting of Raoul de Bragelonne, his close friend Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche, and the Comte de Wardes, son of the previous Comte de Wardes from The Three Musketeers. The erratic Buckingham is madly in love with the princess and can scarcely conceal it, while Guiche soon finds himself equally smitten.  Philippe, though little attracted to women, becomes horribly jealous of Buckingham and has him exiled after the wedding.

Part Two: Louise de la Vallière (Chapters 94–180)

This part mostly concerns romantic events at the court of Louis XIV. Raoul de Bragelonne finds his childhood sweetheart, Louise de La Vallière, is maid of honour to the Princess. Fearing a tarnishing of Louise's reputation by affairs at court, Raoul seeks to marry her.  His father, Athos, the Comte de la Fère, disapproves, but eventually, out of love for his son, reluctantly agrees.  The king, however, refuses to sanction the marriage because Louise is of inferior social status, and so marriage is delayed.

Meanwhile, the struggle for power begins between Fouquet and Colbert.  Louis attempts to impoverish Fouquet by asking for money to pay for a grand fête at Fontainebleau.  Meanwhile, Aramis meets the governor of the Bastille M. de Baisemeaux, and learns of a secret prisoner who bears a striking resemblance to Louis XIV.  Aramis uses this secret to persuade the dying general of the Jesuits to name him his successor.

After Buckingham leaves France, the Comte de Guiche grows besotted with Henrietta, as soon does Louis XIV.  To avoid her new husband being jealous Henrietta suggests that the king choose a young lady at court to act as a smokescreen for their flirtation. They select Louise de la Vallière for this part, but during the fête, the king overhears Louise confess her attraction for him to friends, and promptly forgets his affection for Henrietta.  That same night Henrietta hears de Guiche confess his love for her to Raoul.  The two pursue their own love affair.  Aware of Louise's attachment, the king sends Raoul to England indefinitely as a diplomatic envoy.

Rumours of the king's love affair cause friction with de Wardes, who has inherited from his father a hatred of d'Artagnan and all those associated with him.  De Guiche is forced to fight a duel with him and is defeated and seriously wounded.  The incident is the last straw for Madame Henrietta who resolves to dismiss Louise from her service as Maid of Honour.  The king dissuades Henrietta, but she prevents the king from seeing Louise.  The king circumvents Henrietta, and so she contacts her brother King Charles II, imploring him to eject Raoul from England.  On his return to France, Raoul is heartbroken to discover Louise in the arms of the king.

Athos finds out everything and spits his contempt at Louis XIV.  The young King orders Athos's imprisonment, but D'Artagnan convinces him to release him.

Part Three: The Man in the Iron Mask (Chapters 181–269)

Dumas constructs the plot around the notion that the Man in the Iron Mask is the twin brother of Louis XIV, Philippe, who had been concealed and imprisoned from birth by his father, Louis XIII, and his mother, Anne of Austria, "for the good of France". Only a very few people living at the start of the novel know of Philippe's existence; these include his mother, Anne, and her former confidante, the Duchesse de Chevreuse. Chevreuse has let the secret slip to Aramis when they had an affair.

Aramis plots to replace Louis with Philippe as a puppet ruler for himself and Fouquet, and even intends to become in turn the next Pope.

Through an elaborate subterfuge mounted by Aramis, Philippe replaces a prisoner due for release from the Bastille and escapes to Vaux.  Meanwhile, Fouquet is throwing a lavish party for Louis at Vaux.  Colbert poisons the king further against Fouquet.

While the king is still visiting Fouquet at Vaux, Aramis initiates the second half of his plan and abducts Louis, imprisoning Louis in the Bastille in Philippe's place. He then substitutes Philippe for the King.  Porthos is an uncomprehending accomplice in all this, believing that he is removing an impostor instead of the real king.
Aramis conspiratorially informs Fouquet of his acts, but Fouquet wants no part in such treachery and rushes to the Bastille, rescues Louis, and brings him back to Vaux to confront Philippe.  Realising that his plot has unravelled, Aramis flees for Belle Île to escape the king's impending wrath, taking Porthos with him. Louis regains the throne with d'Artagnan's help, ending Philippe's brief reign.  Louis banishes Philippe, ordering that "he will cover his face with an iron visor" which he "cannot raise without peril of his life."

Athos and Raoul meet Aramis and Porthos who relate their predicament before receiving horses to aid their journey to Belle Île.  They next meet the Duc de Beaufort, on his way to Algiers for an expedition against the Barbary corsairs.  Raoul, devastated by the king's love affair with Louise, volunteers to join the Duc in his expedition.  Soon Raoul is off to war in North Africa, and Athos is retired.

Despite Fouquet's refusal to go along with Aramis's plot, Louis orders d'Artagnan to arrest him, which he manages following an epic chase. Louis then orders d'Artagnan to arrest Porthos and Aramis.  D'Artagnan feigns compliance whilst secretly giving his friends time to escape.  However, Colbert discerns d'Artagnan's sympathies and undermines him.  D'Artagnan resigns on learning that prisoners are to be executed immediately once arrested.

Attempting an escape from Belle Île, Porthos is killed, while Aramis escapes to sea, remorseful for the first time in his life. Meanwhile, Athos returns to his estates and lapses into decline.  On hearing that Raoul has died in action at Gigelli, Athos succumbs to grief and dies. Meanwhile, the detained d'Artagnan is freed by King Louis and reinstated.  He learns of Porthos' death and Aramis' escape.

Thanks to the secret power of the Jesuits, which he now commands, Aramis reaches Spain and becomes her ambassador to France. Louise de la Vallière is eventually supplanted in the king's affections by her erstwhile friend Madame de Montespan. Louis grows in power and stature and embarks on a military campaign against the Dutch Republic, with d'Artagnan commanding the offensive. D'Artagnan is wounded in battle at the Siege of Maastricht moments after reading he is to be made Marshal of France. His final words: "Athos, Porthos, au revoir! Aramis, adieu forever!" While these final words are fictional, the historical Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan on whom Dumas' character is based was indeed killed at Maastricht.

New English Translation
The novel is being translated in English in 5 volumes by the American translator Lawrence Ellsworth with the first volume titled Between Two Kings published in 2021. The volumes are.
Between Two Kings (July 2021)
The Court of Daggers (TBA)
The Devil’s Dance (TBA)
The Shadow of the Bastille (TBA)
The Man in the Iron Mask (TBA)

Analysis
French academic Jean-Yves Tadié has argued that the beginning of King Louis XIV's personal rule is the novel's real subject.

Reception
In his essay "On a Romance of Dumas's", author and critic Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that "it is in the character of D'Artagnan, that we must look for the spirit of morality, which is one of the main joys of its perusal, and sets it high above more popular rivals."

However, Arthur F. Davidson argues in Alexandre Dumas: His Life and Works that The Vicomte is truly the story of Porthos, whose character was informed by Dumas' own experiences and his father's: "The modern reader may draw back aghast at the six volumes of Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, but he will have missed the best part of the Musketeer cycle should he fail to read those pages which describe the end of Porthos."

Adaptations
The third section of the novel, The Man in the Iron Mask, has been adapted many times in film, television and other media; see Man in the Iron Mask#In popular culture.

The three-part fantasy novel The Viscount of Adrilankha (2002–2004) by Steven Brust is loosely based on The Vicomte De Bragelonne.

Notes

External links
 eLook Literature: The Vicomte de Bragelonne – HTML version broken down chapter by chapter.
 
 

1847 French novels
Novels by Alexandre Dumas
The Three Musketeers
Man in the Iron Mask
Works about Louis XIV
Fictional viscounts and viscountesses
Novels set in the 1660s
Novels set in the 1670s
French historical novels
Cultural depictions of Molière
Cultural depictions of Jean-Baptiste Colbert
French novels adapted into films
Novels adapted into comics
Novels set in Early Modern France
Novels set in prison
Novels first published in serial form
Sequel novels
Heath Stocks confessed to killing his father Joe, mother Barbara, and sister Heather in the family home located in Lonoke, Arkansas on January 17, 1997.

History of abuse
Heath Stocks is a long-time victim of sexual and psychological abuse by his former Scoutmaster Charles "Jack" Walls III. For years prior to the murders of his family, Heath had a strained relationship with his father, mainly due to the interference of Walls, who exploited the difficulties in Heath and his father's relationship. Jack used the trust his parents had in him to create deep misunderstanding between the father and son. However, Heath would later say that his mother, sister, and grandparents were always supportive of him, even if they could not understand what was causing his anger and sadness. The abuse was confirmed nine days before the murders when Heath's mother witnessed her son being assaulted in his bedroom. This was not reported to police, mainly due to the threat of Walls's influence and his power to silence the community; Heath's mother Barbara was fearful of the situation. She did, however, confide what she had seen to her own mother, Annie May Harris and to her pastor, Reverend Robert Marble, who, by profession, was a mandatory reporter but told no one. Mrs. Harris did not communicate the information given to her by her daughter. She was informed there was a gag order evoked regarding the investigation into the murders and did not realize, and no one clarified, that the gag order did not render her information moot. Reverend Marble simply withheld the information not only during the investigation but would become a "hostile witness" during the investigation into Jack Walls a few months later.  When Heath's mother and sister confronted Heath regarding what had been witnessed, he confessed to them that he had been sexually abused by Walls for years.

The murders
After revealing Jack's abuse to his mother and sister, Heath made what he calls "one of the greatest mistakes of my life" when he told Walls that the secret was out. Heath states that Walls became furious with him and instructed him to "kill the problem." This would not come into play during Heath's sentencing, but it would come to light a mere four months after Heath's sentence, when Walls's own nephew, Wade Knox, forced Walls to confess to Wade's parents, at gunpoint, to the repeated rapes of himself, his brother, and many other Boy Scouts, including Heath.

The night of the murders, the Stocks residence was ransacked and several articles of value were taken. He claimed that at the time his family arrived home, he was thinking of committing suicide with a .45 caliber handgun he had found in the house, and that he had the barrel of the gun in his mouth when they arrived. His sister returned home first, followed in less than five minutes by his mother and father.

After the murders of his parents and sister, Stocks fled the residence, driving to Arkadelphia and throwing items taken from the house out of the vehicle on his way, including the .45 caliber handgun. He was captured the next morning around 6:00 a.m. at the apartment of a friend, where he was asleep, following a statewide alert calling for his capture. Lonoke County investigators arrived, took custody of Stocks, and transported him back to Lonoke, where he was charged with three counts of capital murder.

Investigation and trial
Investigator Steve Finch took the lead on the investigation. Heath was interviewed numerous times in an attempt to understand how and why the murders occurred. According to one of these interviews, Heath admitted to murdering his mother, father, and sister, only after being pressured and manipulated to protect the secret of the man abusing him, who has been speculated to have been present during the murders. Pressured by his family, Stocks ultimately took the blame and pleaded guilty to all three murders. He received three consecutive life sentences.

An intensive investigation into the activities of former scout master Jack Walls followed shortly thereafter. Walls, once voted Lonoke's Chamber of Commerce "Man of the Year" for his work with the boy scouts, was eventually convicted of six counts of rape, and sentenced to three life sentences. Walls, however, pleaded no contest to the rape of Heath Stocks. It is widely speculated that this action spared Walls of an investigation into his participation and association with the Stocks's murders. Chief Charles Peckat, an investigator of the Walls sexual abuse accusations wrote a letter to Judge Hanshaw wherein he discusses the many issues his investigation was met with, most done by the prosecuting attorney, Larry Cook.  Since Walls's conviction, there have been numerous calls for a pardon or parole made on behalf of Heath Stocks. Judge Hanshaw's dissertation at the close of Jack's trial gives an insight to this accusation. 

It is widely speculated that Heath did not act alone, nor did he murder all three members of his family and, had anyone taken the appropriate actions in the investigation, a guilty plea would not have been submitted. One such supporter who suggested Heath not getting a fair trial was Betty Dickey, (Arkansas' first female Supreme Court Justice), the special prosecutor appointed to the State v. Charles A. "Jack" Walls, III matter, which was remanded on appeal for re-sentencing. Read Dickey's letter to Judge Hanshaw, dated December 30, 1998. (additional correspondence can be found at www.heathstocks.info.)

Recent Legal Status
On September 20, 2017, Heath filed a motion, pro se, with the trial court, requesting their reinvestment into this 1997 case which resulted in a conviction. The motion has been sealed by the Court to protect the names of victims and for the medical records, it contains. Heath has also requested counsel be appointed to aid him in this post-conviction remedy.

Legacy
Wade's actions eventually resulted in Walls's arrest and conviction. Wade committed suicide after years of struggling with the sexual and psychological abuse inflicted upon him. His parents have opened an organization in his name, "The Wade Knox Child Advocacy Center", in Lonoke, Arkansas in the hopes that children such as Heath and Wade can find a safe haven and receive the support they need.

References

External links
Heath Stocks Website

1997 murders in the United States
Living people
Familicides
People from Lonoke, Arkansas
Year of birth missing (living people) Michael Evan Horowitz (born September 19, 1962) is an American attorney and government official. He is the Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice.

Early life and education
Horowitz is the son of Anne J. and Fred Horowitz. His father owned the women's clothing manufacturer, Paul Alfred Inc.; and his mother owned an antique store in Nyack, New York.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Brandeis University and a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Career
Following law school he served as a law clerk for Judge John G. Davies of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He then worked as an associate at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. From 1991 to 1999 he was an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. From 1999 to 2002 he worked at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington D.C., first as a deputy assistant attorney general, then as chief of staff. In 2002 he returned to private practice as a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where he focused on white collar defense, internal investigations, and regulatory compliance. During this time he also served as a commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission—a position for which he was confirmed by the Senate in 2003.

Inspector General for the Department of Justice
Horowitz was sworn in as the Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice on April 16, 2012. Since 2015, he has also been the chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), an organization consisting of all 73 federal Inspectors General.

Review on FBI and DOJ actions in the 2016 election 

Horowitz announced in January 2017 that the Inspector General's office would examine evidence related to "allegations of misconduct" regarding FBI Director James B. Comey's handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email practices and whether Justice Department employees leaked information improperly during the run-up to the 2016 United States presidential election. In June 2018, Horowitz released his report, concluding that Peter Strzok and other FBI employees "brought discredit to themselves" and to the agency. He found that Comey indulged in ad hoc decision making and did not follow FBI procedures, but did not find that he was motivated by any political bias.

Review on 4 FISA Applications and the Crossfire Hurricane investigation 

Another investigation into the FBI and Justice Department was launched by Horowitz in March 2018. This investigation targeted the FBI and Justice Department's filing of four FISA applications and renewals to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and whether or not there was an abuse of this FISA process. A redacted version of the report of the investigation was released December 9, 2019. On November 18, 2019 Senator Lindsey Graham, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that Horowitz would testify before the committee on December 11 regarding the investigation and provide recommendations on how judicial and investigative systems could be improved.

On December 9, 2019, Horowitz released his report stating that the FBI found 17 “basic and fundamental” errors and omissions in its applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court), but did not find political bias during the investigation of Trump and Russia, nor did he find evidence that the FBI attempted to place people inside the Trump campaign or report on the Trump campaign. However, in a Senate hearing, Horowitz stated he could not rule out political bias as a possible motivation. The report found that the FBI had a legal "authorized investigative purpose and with sufficient factual predication" to ask for court approval to begin surveillance of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser.

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee 
Horowitz appointed Glenn Fine to chair the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), but Trump removed Fine in early April 2020. That month, Horowitz became acting chair of the PRAC.

Review of the DOJ's Zero Tolerance Policy 

In January 2021, the Inspector General for the Department of Justice concluded an investigation into the "zero tolerance" policy, finding that: department leaders underestimated the difficulty of implementing it, failed to tell local prosecutors and others that children would be separated; failed to understand that separations would last longer than a few hours; and failed to halt the policy after that was discovered. The findings led Rod Rosenstein, who had been Trump's Attorney General at the time the policy was enforced, to admit that family separations "should never have been implemented".  According to an NBC News report on the investigation, "The report could provide a road map for the incoming Biden administration to investigate those responsible for a policy President-elect Joe Biden has called criminal."

Review of the DOJ on the attempts to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election 
After the New York Times report in January 2021 alleged that some officials in the Justice Department attempted to work with President Trump in order to overturn the election, Horowitz announced that he will open up an investigation regarding the allegation.

Personal life
In 2000, he married Alexandra Leigh Kauffman in Leesburg, Virginia. Kauffman is a former field producer for CNN covering economics and personal finance.

See also 
 
 Inspector General report on FBI and DOJ actions in the 2016 election
 Russia investigation origins counter-narrative
 Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
 Timeline of post-election transition following Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
 Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (July–December 2017)
 Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (2019–2020)
 Trump–Russia dossier

References

External links

1962 births
Brandeis University alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
Living people
People associated with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
People from New York City
United States Department of Justice officials
United States Inspectors General
People associated with Debevoise & Plimpton