The Black Tulip, Alexandre Dumas
The Black Tulip, Alexandre Dumas
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The Black Tulip

Author: Alexandre Dumas

Narrator: Rosalyn Landor

Unabridged: 8 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/13/2009

Categories: Fiction, Classic


Synopsis

Alexandre Dumass novels are notable for their suspense and excitement, their foul deeds, hairsbreadth escapes, and glorious victories. In The Black Tulip, the real hero is no musketeer but a flower. The novel, a deceptively simple story, is set in Holland in 1672 during the amazing tulipmania of the seventeenth century that brought wealth to some and ruin to many. The story weaves the historical events surrounding the brutal murder of John de Witte and his brother Cornelius into a tale of romantic love. The novel is also a timeless political allegory in which Dumas, drawing on the violence and crimes of history, makes his case against tyranny and puts all his energies into creating a symbol of justice and tolerance: the fateful tulipa negra.

About Alexandre Dumas

Alexandre Dumas was one of the most famous and prolific French writers of the nineteenth century, producing some 250 books. He is best known for his historical novels The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, and he was among the first authors to fully exploit the possibilities of roman feuilleton, or "serial novel." Dumas is credited with revitalizing the historical novel in France. His works are riveting, fast-paced adventure tales that blend history and fiction. A master of dialogue and character development, Dumas composed some of the most emulated teaser scenes for his suspenseful chapter endings.

Dumas was born in Villes-Cotterêts in 1802. His father was a general in Napoleon's army, but after he died, the family lived in poverty. Dumas worked as a notary's clerk until 1823, when he went to Paris to seek his fortune. Because of his elegant handwriting, he secured a position with the Duc d'Orleans, who later became King Louis Philippe. He also wrote for the theater and published some obscure magazines. Dumas lived as adventurously as the heroes in his books, taking part in the revolution of July 1830. He later caught cholera during the epidemic of 1832 and traveled to Italy to recuperate.

Dumas married his mistress, the actress Ida Ferrier, in 1840, but he soon separated after having spent her entire dowry on the construction of the fantastic château Montecristo on the outskirts of Paris. In 1855 Dumas was forced to escape his creditors and spent two years in exile in Brussels. In 1858, he traveled to Russia, and in 1860 he went to Italy, where he supported Garibaldi and Italy's struggle for independence. He remained in Naples as a museum keeper for four years. After his return to France, his debts continued to mount. Called "the King of Paris," Dumas earned fortunes and spent them on friends, art, and mistresses. Dumas died of a stroke on December 5, 1870, at Puys, near Dieppe. His illegitimate son, Alexandre Dumas (Jr.), became a writer, dramatist, and moralist.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Meghhnaa on November 11, 2022

The Black Tulip proffers the readers a magnanimous range of human emotions, ranging from hatred, greed, loyalty, jealousy, obsession, and above all the 3 most striking emotions of tolerance, love, and dedication! The first-seven chapters with gruesome political-historical content and neighbor-hatre......more

Goodreads review by Nicole on May 27, 2020

I have read this several times. I love the complexity of it, as well as it's simplicity. If you are into love stories - this has a great one - of loyalty, devotion, and self-sacrifice. If you are into studies of human nature - here too. It explores mob-mentality, politics, truth as it relates to jus......more

Goodreads review by JimZ on October 21, 2022

Dumas is a fantastic story-teller. This was not published originally in periodicals (magazines) — it was published in its entirety in 1850. I found it hard to put down and at some point I could not put it down. I did not think it was going to be that good. The first chapter was the introduction of a......more

Goodreads review by Gabrielle on September 03, 2019

What I like with Alexandre Dumas is that he’s easy to read, despite the facts that he’s clever, he always made historical researches (or had them done by Auguste Maquet?) for his historical novels or plays and had a good knowledge of men hearts, minds and behaviours. The only thing that he misses is......more