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 a Dream references, including to Yang Guifei breasts ("lotus kernels") and Yuan Zhen ballad "The Lianchang Palace" (). The story was well-received by literary critics. Early commentators like Wang Shizhen () and Dan Minglun () are in praise of the story's ending in particular, which they describe as "marvellous" and "like hearing the sound of celestial music suddenly cease" respectively. Feng Zhenluan () remarks that the "whole story is ... fragmentary, inconclusive, loose, delicate, exquisite." Zhang Zhenjun compares the protagonist Locket to Lin Daiyu of "Dream of the Red Chamber", while lauding Pu's characterisation. Twenty Years a Dream "Twenty Years a Dream"