Its concluding installment, “The Man in the Iron Mask,” contains some of Dumas’s best-known writing and can be enjoyed as a stand-alone work. Like many of Dumas’s novels, ...

An iron mask mounted outside the Tower of the Mask in Cannes, France. Photo: Chris Hellier/Getty Images The literary output of Alexandre Dumas père (1802-70) is so prodigious that it makes a ...

For over 300 years, the story of the Man in the Iron Mask has baffled historians, inspired books, and fueled conspiracies. Who was he really? A forgotten prince? A secret twin? A political threat?

Among his many nicknames, Berwanger was known as “The Man in the Iron Mask,” a reference to the faceguard he wore to protect his twice-broken nose. For more reasons than one, ...