Milady

Sullivan (Girl About Town) cleverly reveals the untold story behind the Three Musketeers’ most notorious foe, the cunning Milady de Winter, in a novel best suited to those already familiar with the work of Alexandre Dumas. Milady starts her life as Clarice, the sheltered daughter of a Frenchwoman and a lecherous English baron in the early 17th century. She gradually learns the delicate arts of healing, murder, and concealment. A disturbing encounter with her long-absent father thrusts Clarice into the sticky web of deceit that is the court of King James I of England, leading her into the crosshairs of manipulative lovers and ardent clerics who will shape the remaining years of her life. This companion story is most effective when it blazes its own narrative path, sketching out the period before a world-weary Milady encounters D’Artagnan and his beloved Musketeers at the scene of a duel. It is less effective, however, where Sullivan’s storytelling meets that of Dumas’s. Sullivan weaves a tale of suffering, survival, and intrigue that will entertain ardent Three Musketeers enthusiasts, but it’s likely to leave casual fans or newcomers grasping for context. (July)