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Alexandre Dumas: Genius of Life
Traces the life and career of the French novelist, discusses his success as a playwright, and assesses his place in literature.
- GenresBiography
506 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 27, 2009
This is a very thorough biography. If you know nothing of Dumas, it could be disillusioning. I knew he was a skirt chaser, but he was to such an extreme that it was at times disgusting. However, he was such an honest, brave and noble hearted pig that it's hard to hold his vulgarity against him.
The book is full ofengrossing details about his unceasing and almost unbelievable adventures with and against so many other historical figures that are very entertaining. Lots of Victor Hugo coverage, the letter from him to Dumas fils at the very end had me in tears.
The book is full ofengrossing details about his unceasing and almost unbelievable adventures with and against so many other historical figures that are very entertaining. Lots of Victor Hugo coverage, the letter from him to Dumas fils at the very end had me in tears.
July 25, 2025
Well, I certainly enjoyed what I read and learned a lot about him as well. It's just that it's his work that brings us to him so I wish the book had spent more time on the relation between his life and his work, especially the novels. Instead it says relatively little. In fact it doesn't even mention writing The Three Musketeers until all the way to p. 325.
About his very active, colorful life there's a lot of detailed information and I keep noticing parallels with the life of D'Artagnan, such as the way he came to Paris looking for a position, carrying his letters of recommendation, the way he got arrested for defending a couple against a mugging because "at nights all cats are gray", which is a chapter title in the novel, and so on. It reads kind of choppily though because the French author seems uninterested in the transition between paragraphs - there is generally none at all. Just a new idea/topic and the reader is constantly thinking "wait! what? did I miss something?". I imagine he probably dictated the book to a recorder and paid little attention to what went before. This gets better about halfway through the book.
Dumas was born in 1802 when the Napoleonic wars started - in which his father was a general - and died in 1870, when France was going down in defeat to Prussia. In between he was part of all the revolutions in France, particularly 1830, as well as the Italian war of unification.
Somehow he always found time to write, though, and produced a huge number of plays, novels and essays. He was like a machine, but had to be because no sooner did he have a bit of money than he spent it. He had to have expensive living quarters, supported many mistresses and children and gave too much money to sycophants who once he became famous were always hanging around.
About the rumor I always heard, that he didn't write his own work, that he had a "novel factory", it doesn't appear to be truly really. For some of the novels he had assistants who would kind of write down for him the history, set the scene, but then he would give it life. For example, with the musketeers, this collaborator, Maquet, would tell him that the next big event in France at that time would be the siege of La Rochelle and what happened there, but Dumas would write the actual story. His specialty was taking dry history and sparking it with verve and color.
There are quite a few interesting tidbits, such as that the three musketeers were based on his author friends. Athos was based on Victor Hugo, Porthos on Balzac and Aramis on a writer who doesn't seem to be known well outside France, De Vigny.
It was interesting too that at the end of his life he re-read the musketeers and decided it was good, but that The Count of Monte Cristo was less good.
Overall it's quite a life, but you can't help wish that at some time he would grow up.
About his very active, colorful life there's a lot of detailed information and I keep noticing parallels with the life of D'Artagnan, such as the way he came to Paris looking for a position, carrying his letters of recommendation, the way he got arrested for defending a couple against a mugging because "at nights all cats are gray", which is a chapter title in the novel, and so on. It reads kind of choppily though because the French author seems uninterested in the transition between paragraphs - there is generally none at all. Just a new idea/topic and the reader is constantly thinking "wait! what? did I miss something?". I imagine he probably dictated the book to a recorder and paid little attention to what went before. This gets better about halfway through the book.
Dumas was born in 1802 when the Napoleonic wars started - in which his father was a general - and died in 1870, when France was going down in defeat to Prussia. In between he was part of all the revolutions in France, particularly 1830, as well as the Italian war of unification.
Somehow he always found time to write, though, and produced a huge number of plays, novels and essays. He was like a machine, but had to be because no sooner did he have a bit of money than he spent it. He had to have expensive living quarters, supported many mistresses and children and gave too much money to sycophants who once he became famous were always hanging around.
About the rumor I always heard, that he didn't write his own work, that he had a "novel factory", it doesn't appear to be truly really. For some of the novels he had assistants who would kind of write down for him the history, set the scene, but then he would give it life. For example, with the musketeers, this collaborator, Maquet, would tell him that the next big event in France at that time would be the siege of La Rochelle and what happened there, but Dumas would write the actual story. His specialty was taking dry history and sparking it with verve and color.
There are quite a few interesting tidbits, such as that the three musketeers were based on his author friends. Athos was based on Victor Hugo, Porthos on Balzac and Aramis on a writer who doesn't seem to be known well outside France, De Vigny.
It was interesting too that at the end of his life he re-read the musketeers and decided it was good, but that The Count of Monte Cristo was less good.
Overall it's quite a life, but you can't help wish that at some time he would grow up.
August 28, 2017
One must always read biographies of famous French writers like Dumas along with histories of Haiti. Ironically, at the time of the French Revolution, a million freedom lovers in France were enriching themselves off the million enslaved Africans who had died or were being worked to death in the French colony of Haiti - the most profitable colony in the world. A little knowledge can spoil many a romantic story. It's impossible for the informed reader to feel sorry for the "genius of life" in his roller coaster ride through fame and fortune, (especially when so many women and young girls were thrown under the wheels in his joy ride).
This book is worth the read, however, to see how the capitalist market creates "culture." Dumas was enraged by the accusation, but also acknowledged the fact that he ran a literary factory. Then, as now, money is the driving force. As is the case with Balzac, Dumas's life is more interesting than his novels. But read "Avengers of the New World," (by Laurent Dubois) and "The Black Jacobins" (by CLR James) for the true drama and genius of a people's revolution.
This book is worth the read, however, to see how the capitalist market creates "culture." Dumas was enraged by the accusation, but also acknowledged the fact that he ran a literary factory. Then, as now, money is the driving force. As is the case with Balzac, Dumas's life is more interesting than his novels. But read "Avengers of the New World," (by Laurent Dubois) and "The Black Jacobins" (by CLR James) for the true drama and genius of a people's revolution.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews