Books: Three Musketeers

THE TITANS (508 pp.)—Andrè Maurois —Harper ($5.95).

After writing bushels of novels, Alexandre Dumas felt a need for fresh material. He started off toward the Orient in a fishing smack, taking with him a 19-year-old "admiral" decked out in a musical comedy sailor suit. As Dumas wrote to a friend: "The charming little creature is in the habit of becoming a woman at night." Her name was Emilie Cordier, and she became pregnant just before the fishing smack ran into Giuseppe Garibaldi, then busy invading Sicily with his famed "Thousand." Forgetting the Orient, Dumas...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!