Alexandre Dumas Biography and Works.

Alexandre Dumas was born on July 24, 1802 in Villers-Cotterêts in the department of Aisne, in Picardy, France, to Thomas-Alexandre Dumas and Marie-Louise Élisabeth Labouret. His mother’s stories of his father’s bravery during the years of Napoleon I of France inspired Dumas’ vivid imagination for adventure. In 1822, after the restoration of the monarchy, 20-year-old Alexandre Dumas moved to Paris, where he worked at the Palais Royalin, the office of duc d’Orléans. On February 1, 1840, he married actress Ida Ferrier. He died on December 5, 1870.

His first play, Henry III and His Court, was produced in 1829, and was highly acclaimed with acclaim. The next year, his second play, Christine, was equally popular, and he was financially able to write full-time. In 1830, he participated in the Revolution which ousted Charles X.

After writing more successful plays, he turned his efforts to novels in 1838. Dumas rewrote one of his plays to create his first serial novel, titled Le Capitaine Paul.

From 1839 to 1841, Dumas, with the assistance of several friends, compiled Celebrated Crimes, an eight-volume collection of essays on famous criminals and crimes from the European history.

Dumas also collaborated with his fencing master, Augustin Grisier in his 1840 novel, The Fencing Master. Grisier is also mentioned with great respect in The Count of Monte Cristo, The Corsican Brothers and in Dumas’ memoirs.

Auguste Maquet was the best known assistant of Dumas. He outlined the plot of The Count of Monte Cristo and made substantial contributions to The Three Musketeers and its sequels, as well as to several of Dumas’ other novels.

In 1843, he wrote a short novel, Georges, that addressed some of the issues of race and the effects of colonialism.

In June 2005, Dumas’ recently discovered last novel, The Knight of Sainte Hermine, went on sale in France. The novel was nearly complete at the time of his death. A final two-and-a-half chapters were written by the modern-day Dumas scholar, Claude Schopp.

His stories have been translated into almost a hundred languages, and have inspired more than 200 motion pictures. Alexandre Dumas’ home outside of Paris, the Château de Monte-Cristo, has been restored and is open to the public. The Alexandre Dumas Paris Métro station was named in his honour in 1970. Dumas appears as a character in the Kevin J. Anderson novel, Captain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius.

Trivia

Alexandre Dumas had three illegitimate children, all of whom he formally acknowledged, although he married none of the mothers.

Quote

“A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms against himself. He makes his failure certain by himself being the first person to be convinced of it.”