Twenty Years After Twenty Years After Twenty Years After () is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized from January to August 1845. A book of "The d'Artagnan Romances", it is a sequel to "The Three Musketeers" and precedes "The Vicomte de Bragelonne" (which includes the sub-plot "Man in the Iron Mask"). The novel follows events in France during the Fronde, during the childhood reign of Louis XIV, and in England near the end of the English Civil War, leading up to the victory of Oliver Cromwell and the execution of King Charles I. Through the words of the main characters, particularly Athos,
Twenty Years After himself disagreeable to the Duc, as part of an escape plot. Using messages passed to Rochefort using tennis balls, they arrange to have a meal on Whitsuntide, to which La Ramée, second in command of the prison, is invited. The escape is successful, but d'Artagnan and Porthos are in pursuit. After a race against time, and having defeated several adversaries along the way, Porthos and d'Artagnan find themselves in the dark, surrounded, with swords crossed against adversaries equal to them, who are revealed to be Athos and Aramis. The four arrange to meet in Paris at the Place Royale; both