Alexandre Dumas (1802 – 1870) was one of the best known and beloved French writers of the 19th century. His most famous
contemporaries include Victor Hugo (Les Miserables, Hunchback of Notre Dame) and Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth). Dumas’ father (who died in 1806, when
Alexandre was a young child) was a high level officer in Napoleon’s military. His mother was a freed slave from Haiti. Dumas was of mixed race and frequently, suffered from the effects of racism.
Dumas was born in a small town north of Paris. The death of his father left his family impoverished and consequently, he began writing in order to earn a salary. He wrote numerous magazine articles, but his successful career really began when he wrote the first of several popular plays in 1829 (Henry III and His Court). Dumas wrote several more profitable plays and then turned his attention to historic adventure novels. Many of his works are still popular still today.
His most popular fiction works include:
The Three Musketeers (1844): A highly entertaining story dealing with international intrigue, espionage, kidnapping and assassinations in 1600s France. Young D’artagnan and his three friends Athos, Porthos and Aramis experience a series of adventures while protecting the French Royal Family.
The Nutcracker (1844): an update to the original story. This version was later made into a ballet and is commonly seen as a Christmas story today.
The
Count of Monte Cristo (1846): An adventure story about a wrongly imprisoned Edmond Dantes, his eventual escape and ultimate revenge on his enemies. This exciting story is complex and has many plot twists.
Twenty Years After (1845) and Ten Years Later (1847) are sequels to the highly popular Three Musketeers and depict the continued adventures of the brave team of Musketeers.
In addition to his works of fiction, plays and magazine articles, Dumas was a prolific non fiction writer. In the 1840’s he wrote a series of works (Celebrated Crimes) that depicted actual famous European crimes, criminals and executions.
Many of Dumas works are still extremely popular today. His best known is without doubt, The Three Musketeers. This work has been made into several movies, a TV series, a mini series and even a cartoon. It is a highly acclaimed story and has become a favorite of many young readers throughout the world. His works have been translated into every major language in the world and have inspired over 200 different movies.
Dumas lived for a period of time in Belgium, Russia and Italy, before returning to France in 1864, where he continued his writing. Dumas died in France in 1870 and he was buried in his home town of Villers-Cotterets. In 2002, his body was moved to the Pantheon of Paris where he was enshrined next to other famous French authors.