D is for — Dustfinger and D’Artagnan — from the Inkheart series and The Three Musketeers.
Reading a character out of a book… or reading yourself into one… Who wouldn’t want to be able to do that? Such adventures to be had! I can’t count the books I’ve read myself into in my imagination. But it only works if you can put the characters and/or yourself back where they belong when you’re done. If you can’t, things get messy.
In Cornelia Funke’s trilogy: Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath, Meggie’s father Mo reads Dustfinger out of the story and into their world. The problem is, Mo can’t put him back, leaving the “fire dancer” stuck here in this world. For ten years, Dustfinger yearns to return to his family in the Inkworld. I empathized with his desperate need to go home and cheered when, in Inkspell, he finally made it back. To me, he is by far the most interesting character in the series, and I was immensely glad for the turn of events that allowed him a happy ending.
When I originally read Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, I never realized the story was based on a real person — Charles de Batz-Castelmore, Comte d’Artagnan. The real D’Artagnan lived from 1611-1673 and was Captain of the Musketeers under Louis XIV of France. Dumas’ D’Artagnan Romances, including the Musketeers, were based on the partly-fictionalized memoirs of D’Artagnan written by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras.
I always loved the adventure, the swordplay, and the camaraderie of D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Of the many movie versions of the Musketeers — and I confess I haven’t seen them all — my favorites are the Richard Lester productions: The Three Musketeers from 1973 and The Four Musketeers: Milady’s Revenge from 1974. The wonderful chemistry of the heroes, played by Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, and Richard Chamberlain drives the story. Add in plenty of sword fights, derring-do, and slapstick humor, and you’ve got one fun afternoon at the movies. By the end, I’m ready to add my voice to the rousing shout: “All for one, one for all!”
Paul Bettany – Dustfinger
in Inkheart, 2008
Photo Credit: Inkheart Wikia
Inkheart series
From Left to Right:
Athos/OliverReed
D’Artagnan/Michael York
Porthos/Frank Finlay
Aramis/Richard Chamberlain
Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams 
I didn’t realize that The Three Musketeers was based on a real person…now I know! I enjoyed the Disney version of The Musketeers with Kiefer Sutherland as Athos…it’s a bit over the top, but has some great lines and is a lot of fun. I haven’t seen the Richard Lester ones, I’ll have to check them out 🙂
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They’re very funny. I really like them.
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I never knew the big three were based on real people either. Wow. Now I’ll find them even more interesting. How exciting. Thanks for this.
Deb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com
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You’re welcome! I was really surprised.
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Love them all! Both Dustfinger and the Musketeers! 😀 Have you seen the new BBC show yet? It’s the best adaptation (IMHO) since the Michael York version, which I also cherish 🙂
Happy A to Z!
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary – Tales of colors
MopDog – The crazy thing about Hungarians…
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No, I haven’t seen it. I’ll definitely have to check it out. Thanks!
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I liked the 1973 version too. It inspired to read the book, which I also liked.
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The characters play off each other so well, and I really like the humor in that movie.
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I haven’t run across the Inkheart series. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for expanding my reading world.
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You’re welcome! It’s a great series. I hope you like it!
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I love D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers. Great story, though I haven’t seen the version you list here. I’ll have to check it out. I’ve always loved the name D’Artagnan, too, and some day I may name one of my own characters after him.
Happy blogging!
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That’s great! Those movies are well worth watching.
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I didn’t know that either! pretty interesting:
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I love it when I learn something new.
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I’m in that camp too, had no idea he was based on a real person!
Have you and the family seen the 2011 movie version of ‘The Three Musketeers’? I don’t think it got a lot of attention when it came out but we love it, watch it a lot. It’s a fun adventure with some interesting inventions thrown in!
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I watched it once when it came out, but I don’t remember much about it. We’ll have to watch it again.
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