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El testamento del señor de Chauvelin. La liebre de mi abuelo
Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), autor de más de cien novelas y obras de teatro, maestro indiscutible de los relatos de capa y espada, dedicó una parte de su ingente obra a la literatura fantástica y la reunió bajo el título de Los mil y un fantasmas (1848-1851). De las siete narraciones que contiene la recopilación, el presente volumen incluye dos: El testamento del señor de Chauvelin narra la historia de un cortesano a quien habían predicho que moriría dos meses antes que el rey Luis XV. Presintiendo la muerte del monarca cercana, decide viajar al castillo familiar para ocuparse en persona de su herencia y vivir los últimos días en compañía de su mujer e hijos. El marqués redactaba su testamento cuando recibe la llamada urgente del monarca y ha de abandonar el castillo sin firmar el documento. Chauvelin no llegará nunca a su destino y empiezan a producirse extraños acontecimientos de índole sobrenatural... La liebre de mi abuelo nos cuenta la historia de Jerome, boticario de Theux, un pueblo francés cercano a la frontera con Bélgica, librepensador y consumado cazador que un día decide ampliar sus cacerías furtivas a los terrenos del obispo. Pero es sorprendido por el guardabosques y acaba en la cárcel. Aquel mismo invierno Jerome mata al guardabosques, pero nadie lo advierte. A partir de ese momento sufrirá extrañas visiones en sus sueños y cacerías.
298 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2011
12 people want to read
About the author
Alexandre Dumas
6,992 books12.4k followersThis note regards Alexandre Dumas, père, the father of Alexandre Dumas, fils (son). For the son, see Alexandre Dumas fils.
Alexandre Dumas père, born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a towering figure of 19th-century French literature whose historical novels and adventure tales earned global renown. Best known for The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and other swashbuckling epics, Dumas crafted stories filled with daring heroes, dramatic twists, and vivid historical backdrops. His works, often serialized and immensely popular with the public, helped shape the modern adventure genre and remain enduring staples of world literature.
Dumas was the son of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a celebrated general in Revolutionary France and the highest-ranking man of African descent in a European army at the time. His father’s early death left the family in poverty, but Dumas’s upbringing was nonetheless marked by strong personal ambition and a deep admiration for his father’s achievements. He moved to Paris as a young man and began his literary career writing for the theatre, quickly rising to prominence in the Romantic movement with successful plays like Henri III et sa cour and Antony.
In the 1840s, Dumas turned increasingly toward prose fiction, particularly serialized novels, which reached vast audiences through French newspapers. His collaboration with Auguste Maquet, a skilled plotter and historian, proved fruitful. While Maquet drafted outlines and conducted research, Dumas infused the narratives with flair, dialogue, and color. The result was a string of literary triumphs, including The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, both published in 1844. These novels exemplified Dumas’s flair for suspenseful pacing, memorable characters, and grand themes of justice, loyalty, and revenge.
The D’Artagnan Romances—The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte of Bragelonne—cemented his fame. They follow the adventures of the titular Gascon hero and his comrades Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, blending historical fact and fiction into richly imagined narratives. The Count of Monte Cristo offered a darker, more introspective tale of betrayal and retribution, with intricate plotting and a deeply philosophical core.
Dumas was also active in journalism and theater. He founded the Théâtre Historique in Paris, which staged dramatizations of his own novels. A prolific and energetic writer, he is estimated to have written or co-written over 100,000 pages of fiction, plays, memoirs, travel books, and essays. He also had a strong interest in food and published a massive culinary encyclopedia, Le Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine, filled with recipes, anecdotes, and reflections on gastronomy.
Despite his enormous success, Dumas was frequently plagued by financial troubles. He led a lavish lifestyle, building the ornate Château de Monte-Cristo near Paris, employing large staffs, and supporting many friends and relatives. His generosity and appetite for life often outpaced his income, leading to mounting debts. Still, his creative drive rarely waned.
Dumas’s mixed-race background was a source of both pride and tension in his life. He was outspoken about his heritage and used his platform to address race and injustice. In his novel Georges, he explored issues of colonialism and identity through a Creole protagonist. Though he encountered racism, he refused to be silenced, famously replying to a racial insult by pointing to his ancestry and achievements with dignity and wit.
Later in life, Dumas continued writing and traveling, spending time in Belgium, Italy, and Russia. He supported nationalist causes, particularly Italian unification, and even founded a newspaper to advocate for Giuseppe Garibaldi. Though his popularity waned somewhat in his final years, his literary legacy grew steadily. He wrote in a style that was accessible, entertaining, and emotionally reso
Alexandre Dumas père, born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a towering figure of 19th-century French literature whose historical novels and adventure tales earned global renown. Best known for The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and other swashbuckling epics, Dumas crafted stories filled with daring heroes, dramatic twists, and vivid historical backdrops. His works, often serialized and immensely popular with the public, helped shape the modern adventure genre and remain enduring staples of world literature.
Dumas was the son of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a celebrated general in Revolutionary France and the highest-ranking man of African descent in a European army at the time. His father’s early death left the family in poverty, but Dumas’s upbringing was nonetheless marked by strong personal ambition and a deep admiration for his father’s achievements. He moved to Paris as a young man and began his literary career writing for the theatre, quickly rising to prominence in the Romantic movement with successful plays like Henri III et sa cour and Antony.
In the 1840s, Dumas turned increasingly toward prose fiction, particularly serialized novels, which reached vast audiences through French newspapers. His collaboration with Auguste Maquet, a skilled plotter and historian, proved fruitful. While Maquet drafted outlines and conducted research, Dumas infused the narratives with flair, dialogue, and color. The result was a string of literary triumphs, including The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, both published in 1844. These novels exemplified Dumas’s flair for suspenseful pacing, memorable characters, and grand themes of justice, loyalty, and revenge.
The D’Artagnan Romances—The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte of Bragelonne—cemented his fame. They follow the adventures of the titular Gascon hero and his comrades Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, blending historical fact and fiction into richly imagined narratives. The Count of Monte Cristo offered a darker, more introspective tale of betrayal and retribution, with intricate plotting and a deeply philosophical core.
Dumas was also active in journalism and theater. He founded the Théâtre Historique in Paris, which staged dramatizations of his own novels. A prolific and energetic writer, he is estimated to have written or co-written over 100,000 pages of fiction, plays, memoirs, travel books, and essays. He also had a strong interest in food and published a massive culinary encyclopedia, Le Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine, filled with recipes, anecdotes, and reflections on gastronomy.
Despite his enormous success, Dumas was frequently plagued by financial troubles. He led a lavish lifestyle, building the ornate Château de Monte-Cristo near Paris, employing large staffs, and supporting many friends and relatives. His generosity and appetite for life often outpaced his income, leading to mounting debts. Still, his creative drive rarely waned.
Dumas’s mixed-race background was a source of both pride and tension in his life. He was outspoken about his heritage and used his platform to address race and injustice. In his novel Georges, he explored issues of colonialism and identity through a Creole protagonist. Though he encountered racism, he refused to be silenced, famously replying to a racial insult by pointing to his ancestry and achievements with dignity and wit.
Later in life, Dumas continued writing and traveling, spending time in Belgium, Italy, and Russia. He supported nationalist causes, particularly Italian unification, and even founded a newspaper to advocate for Giuseppe Garibaldi. Though his popularity waned somewhat in his final years, his literary legacy grew steadily. He wrote in a style that was accessible, entertaining, and emotionally reso
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 12, 2022
Este libro trae dos relatos largos de Alexandre Dumas, "El testamento del señor Chauvelin" y "La liebre de mi abuelo". El primer relato, es para el olvido; una obra incoherente e irrelevante desde cualqquier punto de vista (literario, histórico y sobrenatural)... de lo peor que he leído hasta el momento. En cambio, el segundo relato es, en mi opinión, una obra significativa, sin llegar a ser perfecta; más como una suerte de alegoría sobrenatural (no digo más para evitar spoilers)... en este relato, no solo la escritura de Dumas es desenfadada y muy dinámica, sino que el ritmo de la historia es excelente. Una vez que se empieza la narrativa, es imposible dejar la lectura. Por otra parte, la misma se presta a ser interpretada de diferentes maneras... lo cual creo que es un plus.
En lo personal, el libro me deja un sabor agridulce, lo cual se evidencia en mi puntación, la cual no refleja mi opinión del segundo relato ("La liebre de mi abuelo"), la cual sería evidentemente de cinco (5) estrellas; pero siendo el primer relato ("El testamente del señor Chauvelin") tan, pero tan malo (en sentido general), no puedo evaluar el libro con mejor puntación.
Aunque no recomiendo este libro, solo para incondicionales de Alexandre Dumas; reconozco que el relato "La liebre de mi abuelo" vale mucho la pena; quizás, valga tenerlo solo por este cuento sobrenatural.
En lo personal, el libro me deja un sabor agridulce, lo cual se evidencia en mi puntación, la cual no refleja mi opinión del segundo relato ("La liebre de mi abuelo"), la cual sería evidentemente de cinco (5) estrellas; pero siendo el primer relato ("El testamente del señor Chauvelin") tan, pero tan malo (en sentido general), no puedo evaluar el libro con mejor puntación.
Aunque no recomiendo este libro, solo para incondicionales de Alexandre Dumas; reconozco que el relato "La liebre de mi abuelo" vale mucho la pena; quizás, valga tenerlo solo por este cuento sobrenatural.
May 24, 2022
Son dos historias cortas. La primera, El testamento de Monsieur Chavelin, me parece que quedó incompleta, le faltó concreción ala historia.
La segunda, La liebre de mi abuelo, es genial, 100% Dumas, sabe llevarnos hasta el final y sorprendernos en el momento adecuado
La segunda, La liebre de mi abuelo, es genial, 100% Dumas, sabe llevarnos hasta el final y sorprendernos en el momento adecuado
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews