Sure to be one of the literary events of this or any year is the release of an unpublished work by the legendary French writer Alexandre Dumas. Yes, the same Alexandre Dumas who brought us the classic novels THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, THE CORSICAN BROTHERS, and the most famous work of his career, THE THREE MUSKETEERS.

The remarkable thing is that THE THREE MUSKETEERS was published in 1844. Thanks and praise need to be heaped upon the translator of this previously unpublished work, THE RED SPHINX. That person is Lawrence Ellsworth, a pen name for Lawrence Schick, whose previous claim to fame was promoting the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.

How this novel got made is a story in and of itself. It deserves a thesis, not a book review, to do it true justice. This is a weighty and lengthy tome at just under 800 pages, but there is not a wasted word. Picking up a mere 20 days after the end of THE THREE MUSKETEERS, THE RED SPHINX is set inside the same milieu as that classic literary novel.

"...a royal treat for fans of historical fiction. I am confident that librarians and English literature teachers around the world are leaping for joy at the publication of THE RED SPHINX, and I join them in this excitement."

Mind you, this is not a story about the legendary swashbucklers --- Athos, Aramis, Porthos and d'Artagnan --- but does feature some of the characters from that book. Set in the early 1600s, THE RED SPHINX brings us a tale with the infamous Cardinal Richelieu as a central character. What is even more surprising is that the Cardinal, seen as mostly a villain in THE THREE MUSKETEERS, is given the role of hero in this one.

The Red Sphinx is actually another name for the Count of Moret, son of King Henry IV and half-brother to King Louis VIII. Moret was purported to have been killed at the Battle of Castelnaudary, but this was never confirmed. What Dumas took advantage of was how little historical reference there is to Moret, and this made it that much easier to provide his fictional exploits amidst the furor of King Louis VIII's reign.

It is a tumultuous time in France as they find themselves in conflict with archrivals England and Spain. King Louis VIII has equal issues within his own chambers. When Cardinal Richelieu bows out of his service to the King, many of those loyal to the Cardinal seek to follow, leaving King Louis VIII in a precarious situation. Readers of Dumas' work will relish seeing these characters, and others like Queen Anne of Austria come back to life on the pages once again. The greatest feat is that Dumas dealt with real, historical characters, and his retelling of major moments in French history is still just as compelling and enjoyable as it was back in the 1800s.

The story behind the creation of this book finds its origins amidst both a serial novel and an unpublished novella. Dumas stopped after writing over a year's worth of the serial foundation for THE RED SPHINX. The novella was called THE DOVE, and translator Lawrence Ellsworth presents it in its entirety --- the first time it has been seen in the U.S. Ellsworth seamlessly blends the two to put together an epic and cohesive tale that is a royal treat for fans of historical fiction. I am confident that librarians and English literature teachers around the world are leaping for joy at the publication of THE RED SPHINX, and I join them in this excitement.