Alexandre Dumas

The King of Romance

Biography & Memoir, Literary
Cover of the book Alexandre Dumas by F. W. J. Hemmings, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: F. W. J. Hemmings ISBN: 9781448204830
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: September 28, 2011
Imprint: Bloomsbury Reader Language: English
Author: F. W. J. Hemmings
ISBN: 9781448204830
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: September 28, 2011
Imprint: Bloomsbury Reader
Language: English

The last of Alexandre Dumas's many mistresses, the American actress Adah Menken, called him "the king of romance." She was not thinking only of his immensely popular novels The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo - everything about Dumas was touched with the spirit of romance, and it is that spirit which this exhilarating biography captures.

There was romance in Dumas's ori­gins. He grew up in the country, the son of a general who fought under Napoleon in Egypt and Italy and whose own parents were a French marquis and a slave from Haiti. As a boy, Dumas's closest friends were local poachers and a gardener whom he once watched cut open a grass snake to lib­erate a frog. The world was full of magical possibilities, and, in his twen­ties, after moving to Paris and working as a clerk under the Duc d'Orleans, Dumas established himself, with Victor Hugo, as one of the leading Romantic playwrights.

In its scope and richness, Dumas's life bears comparison to those of his fictional heroes. Drawing on Dumas's memoirs and surviving correspon­dence, Professor Hemmings constructs a fascinating story, first published in 1979, of a writer whose novels continue to excite our imagi­nation.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The last of Alexandre Dumas's many mistresses, the American actress Adah Menken, called him "the king of romance." She was not thinking only of his immensely popular novels The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo - everything about Dumas was touched with the spirit of romance, and it is that spirit which this exhilarating biography captures.

There was romance in Dumas's ori­gins. He grew up in the country, the son of a general who fought under Napoleon in Egypt and Italy and whose own parents were a French marquis and a slave from Haiti. As a boy, Dumas's closest friends were local poachers and a gardener whom he once watched cut open a grass snake to lib­erate a frog. The world was full of magical possibilities, and, in his twen­ties, after moving to Paris and working as a clerk under the Duc d'Orleans, Dumas established himself, with Victor Hugo, as one of the leading Romantic playwrights.

In its scope and richness, Dumas's life bears comparison to those of his fictional heroes. Drawing on Dumas's memoirs and surviving correspon­dence, Professor Hemmings constructs a fascinating story, first published in 1979, of a writer whose novels continue to excite our imagi­nation.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book The Wombles at Work by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book International Sales Law by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book The Extraordinary Archive of Arthur J. Munby by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book The Theatre of David Henry Hwang by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book The Politics of Jewishness in Contemporary World Literature by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book The Long Eighteenth Century by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book The US, the UK and Saudi Arabia in World War II by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book Fashion and Popular Print in Early Modern England by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book Christ the Heart of Creation by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book The Seven Years' War by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book Other People's Money by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book Keats and Negative Capability by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book Flood by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book The Hidden History of American Fashion by F. W. J. Hemmings
Cover of the book Hong Kong 1941–45 by F. W. J. Hemmings
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy