-
Alexandre's Dumas's Birth
Alexandre Dumas was born in Villers-Cotterets in Picardy, France.
Dumas's parents were Thomas Alexandre Dumas, a general in Napoleon's army and Marie-Louise Élisabeth Labouret,daughter of an innkeeper. -
Period: to
Alexandre's Dumas's Life
-
Early Life of Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre's father died in 1806.His widow was unable to provide an education for her son. The fact that is education was poor did not stop him though. He read anything he could get his hands on whcih eventually inspired him to become a writer. -
Career
In 1822, after the restoration of the monarchy, 20-year old Alexandre Dumas moved to Paris, where he worked at the Palais Royal in the office of Louis Philippe. -
Career
While in Paris, Dumas began writing for magazines and plays for the theater. His first play, Henry III and His Court, was produced in 1829. 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, and which replaced him on the throne with Dumas' former employer who would rule as Louis-Philippe. -
Career
After a couple of excellent years in Paris Dumas turned his efforts to novels. Since newspapers wanted many serial novels, in 1838 Dumas rewrote one of his plays to create his first serial novel, titled Le Capitaine Paul, which led to his forming a production studio that turned out hundreds of stories, all subject to his personal input and direction. -
Career
From 1839 to 1841 Dumas compiled Celebrated Crimes, an eight-volume collection of essays on famous criminals and crimes from European history, including Beatrice Cenci, Martin Guerre, Cesare, and Lucrezia Borgia. -
Personal Life
On 1 February 1840 he married actress Ida Ferrier (born Marguerite-Joséphine Ferrand) (1811—1859) but continued with his numerous liaisons with other women, fathering at least four illegitimate children. One of those children, a son named after him, whose mother was Marie-Laure-Catherine Labay (1794—1868), a dressmaker, would follow in his footsteps, also becoming a successful novelist and playwright. -
Career
Dumas made extensive use of the aid of numerous assistants and collaborators, of whom Auguste Maquet was the best known. It was Maquet who 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. When they were working together, Maquet proposed plots and wrote drafts, while Dumas added the details, dialogues, and the final chapters. -
Career
Dumas also collaborated with his fencing master Augustin Grisier in his 1840 novel, The Fencing Master. The story is written to be Grisier's narrated account of how he came to witness the events of the Decembrist revolt in Russia. This novel was eventually banned in Russia by Czar Nicholas I, causing Dumas to be banned from visiting Russia until after the Czar's death. Grisier is also mentioned with great respect in The Count of Monte Cristo. -
Death of A Legend
Although he was originally buried where he had been born, in 2002 French President, Jacques Chirac, had his body exhumed. During a televised ceremony his new coffin, draped in a blue velvet cloth and flanked by four Republican Guards (costumed as the Musketeers—Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan), was transported in a solemn procession to the Panthéon of Paris, the great mausoleum where French luminaries are interred.
