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Les crimes célèbres #8
Derues, l'avvelenatore. Delitti celebri
Un breve ma denso romanzo della serie dei Delitti celebri tradotto e pubblicato per la prima volta in Italia. La storia dalle tinte noir e dai toni spietati di Antoine-François Derues, personaggio storico della Francia del Settecento. Ambiguo, scaltro, capace di cambiar pelle come un serpente, ma allo stesso tempo suscitare nelle persone fiducia incondizionata, Derues si macchiò di atroci delitti. Grazie alle sue mille maschere, alla sua furbizia e ai suoi abili travestimenti, scampò varie volte alla giustizia. Riportato spesso nelle cronache francesi con l’espressione affaire Derues, ricordato da molti come un avvelenatore, viene descritto da Dumas come un genio del male. Nel racconto non c’è spazio alla pietà e compassione per restituire al lettore un ritratto vivido e suscitare le più sordide sensazioni.
- GenresFrance
150 pages, Paperback
First published June 9, 1840
8 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Alexandre Dumas
7,031 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 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 27, 2022
Geschichte eines Psychopathen, der unter dem Mantel der Frömmigkeit, zahlreiche Verbrechen begehen konnte, weil seine Opfer immer zuerst, aber meistens zu spät merkten, welchem Ungeheuer sie vertraut hatten. Laut Wikipedia fungierte Dumas nur als Namenspatron für diese Geschichte des Psychopathen, den seine Gier nach Gold bzw. Unfähigkeit, was davon herzugeben zum Dieb und Mörder gemacht hat.
Auf den ersten Seiten fällt diese nicht mal so sehr auf, der unauffällige Mord im Spiel ist sogar nachvollziehbar. Außenseiter Derues hatte nach der Schule mal wieder die Mehrheit gegen sich, da er im Ruf eine frömmelnden Denunzianten steht. Trotzdem darf der unbeliebte Mitschüler bei einem Räuber und Gendarm-Spiel auf Seiten der Polizei mitspielen. Als der zuletzt doch gefangen genommene Anführer auf einer Galgenszene besteht, kommt die Chance für Derues. In einem unbewachten Moment kickt er die Bücher weg und sein Widersacher wird stranguliert. Dieses erste Kapitel könnte sogar von Dumas stammen, da die Motivation hinter dem Mord erkennbar wird und dabei nachvollziehbar bleibt.
Diese doppelte Optik fehlt bei den restlichen Verbrechen, es fehlt die Innensicht des Täters, der nur als eine Art unermüdlicher Scharrer beschrieben wird, der sich einfach nicht von seinem Geld trennen kann und seine Gläubiger lieber ermordet, während er weitere Schätze hortet. Natürlich gibt es im weiteren Verlauf ein paar romanhafte Stimmungsbilder vom häuslichen Leben der Opfer, aber alles in allem verfällt der Erzähler in eine Art Staatsanwaltsrhetorik. Ähnlich wie bei Ali Pacha, aber der Räuberfürst vom Balkan mordete halt in ganz großem Stil, profitierte dabei als Ikone des Freiheitskampfes, weil er zufällig auch das osmanische Reich zum Gegner hatte.
Bei der Geschichte des Herrschers von Janina, der medial als Freiheitsheld gefeiert wurde und so etwas wie der Selenskij der Salons des frühen 19. Jahrhunderts war, wie auch beim Mann mit der eisernen Maske, verlieh Dumas Verbrechern wie Opfern noch später ein persönlicheres Profil in seinen Romanen. Bei einem schäbigen Miesling wie Derues, der keine späte Erlösung erfahren sollte, macht sich die Abwesenheit des Meisters aber stärker bemerkbar als bei Morden in Königshäusern und Arnautenpalästen und Serails. Daher nur zwei Sterne. Im Sinne von anständig angefangen und zu Ende erzählt, müsste man fairerweise drei Sterne geben, aber Derues ist dermaßen Monochrom und die Opfer dermaßen ahnungslos, ... der Fall könnte allerdings eine Inspiration für de Sade gewesen sein, so weit es die Giftmorde unter dem Mantel der Frömmigkeit angeht.
Auf den ersten Seiten fällt diese nicht mal so sehr auf, der unauffällige Mord im Spiel ist sogar nachvollziehbar. Außenseiter Derues hatte nach der Schule mal wieder die Mehrheit gegen sich, da er im Ruf eine frömmelnden Denunzianten steht. Trotzdem darf der unbeliebte Mitschüler bei einem Räuber und Gendarm-Spiel auf Seiten der Polizei mitspielen. Als der zuletzt doch gefangen genommene Anführer auf einer Galgenszene besteht, kommt die Chance für Derues. In einem unbewachten Moment kickt er die Bücher weg und sein Widersacher wird stranguliert. Dieses erste Kapitel könnte sogar von Dumas stammen, da die Motivation hinter dem Mord erkennbar wird und dabei nachvollziehbar bleibt.
Diese doppelte Optik fehlt bei den restlichen Verbrechen, es fehlt die Innensicht des Täters, der nur als eine Art unermüdlicher Scharrer beschrieben wird, der sich einfach nicht von seinem Geld trennen kann und seine Gläubiger lieber ermordet, während er weitere Schätze hortet. Natürlich gibt es im weiteren Verlauf ein paar romanhafte Stimmungsbilder vom häuslichen Leben der Opfer, aber alles in allem verfällt der Erzähler in eine Art Staatsanwaltsrhetorik. Ähnlich wie bei Ali Pacha, aber der Räuberfürst vom Balkan mordete halt in ganz großem Stil, profitierte dabei als Ikone des Freiheitskampfes, weil er zufällig auch das osmanische Reich zum Gegner hatte.
Bei der Geschichte des Herrschers von Janina, der medial als Freiheitsheld gefeiert wurde und so etwas wie der Selenskij der Salons des frühen 19. Jahrhunderts war, wie auch beim Mann mit der eisernen Maske, verlieh Dumas Verbrechern wie Opfern noch später ein persönlicheres Profil in seinen Romanen. Bei einem schäbigen Miesling wie Derues, der keine späte Erlösung erfahren sollte, macht sich die Abwesenheit des Meisters aber stärker bemerkbar als bei Morden in Königshäusern und Arnautenpalästen und Serails. Daher nur zwei Sterne. Im Sinne von anständig angefangen und zu Ende erzählt, müsste man fairerweise drei Sterne geben, aber Derues ist dermaßen Monochrom und die Opfer dermaßen ahnungslos, ... der Fall könnte allerdings eine Inspiration für de Sade gewesen sein, so weit es die Giftmorde unter dem Mantel der Frömmigkeit angeht.
January 24, 2024
Dumas ci racconta la storia vera di Antoine-François Derues, un famoso avvelenatore francese, e lo fa partendo dalla sua infanzia. Derues è orfano di entrambi i genitori e viene cresciuto da vari parenti. Sin dalla giovane età mostra la totale mancanza di empatia verso i suoi coetanei e gli adulti.
La sua vita intera è divisa tra omicidi e furti, azioni compiute senza il minimo rimorso.
Derues vive una vita di menzogne, una recita continua, dove per tutti è un uomo buono che vive per la famiglia e il suo lavoro, ma in realtà lui nasconde bene il suo lato crudele.
Molte persone si fidano quasi subito di lui, dei suoi modi ossequiosi e della sua parlantina, senza sapere che presto verranno derubati o avvelenati.
Anche in questo caso Dumas si è dimostrato un grande narratore, perchè riesce a tratteggiare sapientemente il carattere di un uomo senza pietà, interessato solo ai soldi, creando così una storia che ancora oggi riesce a incuriosire il lettore.
La sua vita intera è divisa tra omicidi e furti, azioni compiute senza il minimo rimorso.
Derues vive una vita di menzogne, una recita continua, dove per tutti è un uomo buono che vive per la famiglia e il suo lavoro, ma in realtà lui nasconde bene il suo lato crudele.
Molte persone si fidano quasi subito di lui, dei suoi modi ossequiosi e della sua parlantina, senza sapere che presto verranno derubati o avvelenati.
Anche in questo caso Dumas si è dimostrato un grande narratore, perchè riesce a tratteggiare sapientemente il carattere di un uomo senza pietà, interessato solo ai soldi, creando così una storia che ancora oggi riesce a incuriosire il lettore.
October 21, 2025
Brilliantly Horrible... Enjoyed this one, short but sour.
November 27, 2023
Un po' deludente rispetto agli altri titoli della serie. Derues non mi è piaciuto come personaggio. Forse ha inciso leggere il libro in un periodo particolare, di poca concentrazione.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews