This is a fun little story in which the stakes are absurdly small, the ending predictable, and the political commentary long since irrelevant. The tale does not live up its own billing of a dramatic adventure but it has a lot of charm. Its an easy read, despite the opening four chapters of mob-cannibalism.

It's genuinely funny in some places, though I can't tell just how much of the humour (and enjoyment of the book overall) is through intentional skill or is a reaction to its overly earnest leading charcters and shameless pandering to an ancient french audience.

The translation I picked up (Oxford Classics) comes with amusing footnotes that debunk and deride Dumas' understanding of history and science and contains some of the amusing flowery prose that was abridged for readability. The foreward suggests that this book was written to keep Dumas solvent and while reading it I could imagine him grinning as he strings the tale along, knowing that it's going to sell no matter what because of his name. Still, if you like your classics then you're not taking a risk trying this one. I enjoyed it but not one I'd read again.