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Early years
He was born in Villers-Cott in 1802, of a military father- who died shortly after the author was born- and a slave mother. Self-taught, Dumas struggled to release his plays. It was not until he produced Henry III (1830) that he was successful enough to dedicate himself to writing -
Studies
Iin 1811 he entered the Abbot Gregorie's School and remained there until 1813. It can be said that from the school he became a notary's clerk (1816) in Villers-Cotterets. At that time, he devoted more energy to hunting than to the study of law. In 1819 he met Adolphe de Leuven with whom he would write his first literary work. -
First works
With the representation, by the Comédie française in 1830, of Henry III and his court, he achieved great notoriety and, in 1831, with Antony he achieved his first success. Success that will continue throughout his literary career with the genre of his predilection: the drama and the historical novel. It is said that he was the introducer of Romanticism in French theater, showing characters proud of their own. -
Works attributed
The list of works attributed to Dumas is long, we can mention Violeta's novel, The son of Portos, Confessions of the Marchioness, The Knights Templar, among others. Some published under his name are only translations, such as Ivanhoe by Walter Scott. Another, of undying fame, is The Man in the Iron Mask, written by Emile Ladoucette, whose version Dumas is found, as an essay, in his book Famous Crimes. -
Some Works
Short novels and stories
Cherubino and Celestina (1836)
The Cabriolet Driver (1836)
A masked ball (1836)
Bernard (1836) Novels and children's stories
Captain Panfilo (1839)
Lyderic's Adventures (1842)
Story of a Nutcracker (1844)
The Porridge of Countess Berta (1845) Novels
Paulina (1838)
Actea (1839)
Adventure of John Davys (1840)
The Master of Arms (1840) -
Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo is the story of a revenge. Edmond Dantès is a young sailor who, on the day of his engagement with the beautiful Mercedes, is the victim of a plot and imprisoned in the Castle of If. Thanks to the Abbe Faria, he acquires an education and discovers the existence of a wonderful treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo. He manages to escape from the fortress and enlists with some pirates in search of a fabulous fortune. -
Last days
En 1850 Alexandre fled to Brussels where he finished writing his memoirs. In 1858 he was invited by a wealthy Russian family on a pleasure trip, which took him to St. Petersburg, Moscow, Astrakhan, Baku, Georgia, and the shores of the Black Sea. That nine-month trip was of great benefit to his literary work. On his return he published several books on the subject, as well as translations by important Russian authors of that time. -
Death
In 1870 Dumas took refuge in his son's country house in Puys, unable to return to the capital due to the war with Prussia and his state of health. He died of a heart attack on December 5, the same day the Prussians entered the town.
