The Three Musketeers

by Alexandre Dumas

The Three Musketeers: Genre 1 key example

Genre
Explanation and Analysis:

The Three Musketeers is a historical novel. While this may sound as though it is a dry portrayal of political events from the 17th century, it is anything but stale. The genre of the historical novel boomed in popularity in the first half of the 19th century, especially following Walter Scott's bestselling Waverley novels. Books in this genre were set in the past and featured characters based on real political figures, but they aimed to tell exciting, fictionalized stories about those characters and the events in which they were involved.