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Valois Romances #1

Асканио

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"Асканио" - один из лучших исторических романов Дюма-отца. В романе, переносящем нас в эпоху позднего возрождения, описан тот период жизни Бенвенуто Челлини, прославленного итальянского скульптора и ювелира, когда он вместе со своим любимым учеником Асканио находился на службе у французского короля Франциска I. Подлинными героями романа являются не владетельные особы или знатные вельможи, а представители народа - художник, подмастерье, бедный писец-студент, - талантливые, великодушные, мужественные и жизнерадостные.

474 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1843

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237 people want to read

About the author

Alexandre Dumas

7,093 books12.4k followers
This 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

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5 stars
291 (40%)
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237 (33%)
3 stars
145 (20%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
Profile Image for Sergey.
270 reviews12 followers
September 5, 2009
This is a re-read; first read about fifteen years ago. I remembered vividly the scene of the taking of the Great Nesle Castle, but had forgotten the glory of the story that followed. This is such a wonderful historical novel. You have adventure; you have intrigue; you have romance (innocent and lovely (Ascanio and Colombe), contrasted by the selfish love that satisfies but the cold, cruel heart (Duchess D'Etampes -- To win your heart I would sacrifice France!); you have revenge; you have the art. The scene of casting of statue Jupiter alone is breathtaking! Benvenuto Cellini is unbreakable (and a remarkable man in this novel; the novel, itself, is largely based on his autobiography); Ascanio too much in love to see the evil around him; Colombe too innocent; Jacques Aubry a comical relief to the intense drama; Duchess D’Etampes very evil; the novel – very lush! Dumas rarely disappoints, and this is one of his best novels.
Profile Image for Laura.
7,134 reviews607 followers
October 28, 2021
Free download available at Project Gutenberg

I made the proofing of this book for Free Literature and Project Gutenberg will publish it.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

"Never perhaps," says Miss Pardoc (in the Preface
to the "Court and Reign of Francis I."), "did
the reign of any European sovereign present so
many and such varying phases. A contest for
empire, a captive monarch, a female regency, and
a religious war; the poisoned bowl and the burning
pile alike doing their work of death amid
scenes of uncalculating splendor and unbridled dissipation;
the atrocities of bigotry and intolerance,
blent with the most unblushing licentiousness and
the most undisguised profligacy;--such are the
materials offered to the student by the times of
Francis I."


4* The Count of Monte Cristo
4* The Black Tulip
5* The Two Dianas
3* La chemise de la Sainte Vierge
3* La Comtesse De Salisbury
3* Les mille et un fantômes
3* Les Frères corses
3* The Women's War
CR Ascanio
TR Georges, Or, the Isle of France
TR The woman with the velvet necklace
TR The Prussian Terror

The D'Artagnan Romances series
4* The Three Musketeers
4* Twenty Years After
4* Vicomte de Bragelonne
4* Ten Years Later
TR Louise de La Vallière
4* The Man in the Iron Mask

The Last Valois series
5* Queen Margot, or Marguerite de Valois
4* Chicot the Jester (La Dame de Monsereau)
4* The Forty-Five Guardsmen

The Marie Antoinette Romances series
4* Joseph Balsamo
4* Le Collier de la Reine
4* Taking the Bastille
4* The Countess de Charny
TR The Knight of Maison-Rouge

The Sainte-Hermine Cycle series
TR The Companions of Jehu
TR The Whites and the Blues
TR The Last Cavalier: Being the Adventures of Count Sainte-Hermine in the Age of Napoleon

Celebrated crimes series
4* Murat
TR The Borgias
TR The Cenci
TR Massacres of the South
TR Mary Stuart Queen of Scots
TR Karl Ludwig Sand
TR Urbain Grandier Celebrated Crimes
TR Nisida
TR Derues Celebrated Crimes
TR La Constantin
TR Joan of Naples
TR Martin Guerre Celebrated Crimes
TR Ali Pacha
TR The Countess Of Saint Geran Celebrated Crimes
TR The Marquise de Brinvilliers
TR Vaninka Celebrated Crimes
TR The Marquise de Ganges

Auto-biography
5* My Memoirs, Vol. 1
4* My Memoirs, Vol. 2
5* My Memoirs, Vol. 3
4* My Memoirs, Vol. 4
3* My Memoirs, Vol. 5
5* My Memoirs, Vol. 6
Profile Image for Ararat Yeganian.
44 reviews4 followers
July 25, 2022
Գեղեցիկ սիրո պատմություն էր, հաճելի կարդացվող վեպ, բայց Դյումայի մնացած գրքերից ավելի եմ ազդվել ու սպասելիքներս ավելի մեծ էր, ինչով էլ պայմանավորված է այն փաստը, որ 4ի փոխարեն 3 եմ դնում։

Վեպը պատմում է 16-րդ դարում ապրած և ստեղծագործած Բենվենուտո Չելինիի կյանքի մասին, ինչին զուգահեռ ներկայացվում է Ասկանիոյի բուռն սիրո պատմությունը։
Profile Image for Karina.
886 reviews61 followers
February 23, 2010
I need to figure out which edition I have of this book. But most of my books are currently in storage... This was a gift. And at the time I didn't know Dumas wrote anything like this too; it's not quite the same genre as the usual stuff I read by him like the Three Musketeers and the sequels, and other historical fiction.
6 reviews7 followers
September 24, 2012
The first time I came upon Cellini's name was the movie "How to Steal a Million" with Audrey Hepburn. And as soon as I've seen a book about him, I new I must read it.

Really great book. I like the way Dumas describes Benvenuto Cellini. He seemed to be a very active, talented and adventurous person with a good sense of humor and devotion to his friends.
Profile Image for Maryam .
50 reviews45 followers
June 28, 2013
this is a rating of my memory, I read it when I was 15. 15 year old me loved it, now I would love to re-read it. As soos as I do, will update a review.
P.S. I was suprised to find among editions exactly the one I had at my parents' house.
Profile Image for Jānis.
462 reviews37 followers
April 27, 2014
Caurstrāvo visu laiku tāds patīkams viduslaiku maigums un naivisms, bet ir kruta. Ja salīdzina ar mūsdienu romāniem, tad intrigas ir, bet visur cauri spīd tāds patiess cēlums, kas romānu padara "dizčiltīgu". Patika.
Profile Image for Natia Morbedadze.
831 reviews83 followers
May 15, 2022
მორიგი ამბავი დიუმას სტილში. ამჯერად გამოგონილი სასიყვარულო ისტორია მე-16 საუკუნის საფრანგეთში მეფე ფრანსუა I-ის კარზე ვითარდება და მთავარ როლში თვით ბენვენუტო ჩელინია! დიახ, სწორედ მისი შეგირდია "რომეო" ასკანიო, რომლის გამოც დიდ მაესტროს სამეფო კარის ინტრიგებში უწევს ჩაბმა და ჩვენი დიდად თავშესაქცევ თავგადასავალში ჩათრევა.
42 reviews
December 8, 2017
Not Dumas' best, with complicated political intrigues on the sideline and all too many coincidences that help the plot forward. Still, his dynamic narrating style never disappoints, and makes it pleasant leisure to read, even in French.

His particular liking for romantic adventures this time creates a delicious character in the pompous, ever-resourceful and talented artist Benvenuto Cellini; implicit father figure who, with seeming ease, holds the world of highest French society in the palm of his hand. Charm, daring and ambition. He is the kind of man we would all like to be in good graces with - or should shun as an enemy, at the very least. More than Ascanio, he is the motor of the narrative, which starts off with his adventurous farings in Italy and circles back to a stunning intervention which could save the day or - as has been feared throughout the entire book - be the ruin of all those who build on him.

Lovingly, as he does within the narrative as well, Cellini yields the place he would have deserved in the title to his young, handsome apprentice.

A sympathetic mention, too, for Jacques Aubrey. If it weren't for him... !
13 reviews
October 28, 2014
Grūti pateikt vai šobrīt lasot šo grāmatu būtu tāds pats iespaids, bet kaut kad ļoti sen es biju sajūsmā par šo atklājumu. Tiem, kam patika "3 musketieri", patiks arī šī.
Profile Image for Socrate.
6,745 reviews271 followers
September 15, 2021
Povestirea noastră începe în ziua de 10 iulie a anului de graţie 1540, la orele patru după-amiază, la Paris, în tinda bisericii Grands-Augustins din curtea Universităţii, lângă agheasmatar, în apropiere de uşa de la intrare.

Un tânăr înalt şi chipeş, întunecat la faţă, cu părul pletos şi cu ochii mari, negri, simplu dar elegant şi înarmat doar cu un pumnal mic cu un mâner sculptat cu meşteşug, stătea acolo cuprins de bună seamă, de o cucernică sfială, deoarece nu se clintise din loc tot timpul cât ţinuse vecernia; cu capul plecat într-o atitudine de evlavioasă meditaţie, îngâna în şoaptă nişte cuvinte neînţelese, probabil o rugăciune, fiindcă bolborosea atât de încet, încât nimeni altul decât el şi Dumnezeu puteau desluşi spusele sale; totuşi, spre sfârşitul liturghiei, se încumetă, în sfârşit, să înalţe fruntea, şi atunci vecinii din preajmă reuşiră să prindă câteva vorbe rostite cu jumătate de glas:

― Îţi vine să-ţi iei câmpii când auzi fonfăind pe călugării ăştia francezi! N-ar putea să-şi dea mai multă osteneală, cel puţin faţă de ea, care, de bună seamă, e deprinsă a asculta doar cântecele îngerilor din cer?! Ah, în fine, bine că s-a terminat! O, Doamne, Doamne, fă ca de astă dată să fiu mai fericit decât duminica trecută şi să-mi arunce măcar o privire!

Această ultimă rugăminte nu era câtuşi de puţin prezumpţioasă, căci, dacă făptura către care era îndreptată ar fi ridicat ochii asupra celui ce i-o adresase, ar fi văzut cel mai încântător chip de adolescent pe care l-ar fi putut întrezări în visurile sale, citind frumoasele legende mitologice, după care lumea se dădea în vânt pe vremea aceea, datorită minunatelor stihuri ale meşterului Clement Marot, şi în care sunt istorisite peripeţiile amoroase ale lui Psihe şi moartea lui Narcis, într-adevăr, aşa cum am arătat, în ciuda costumului său simplu de culoare închisă, tânărul pe care l-am înfăţişat mai sus era de o remarcabilă frumuseţe şi de o eleganţă fără cusur: mai mult încă, zâmbetul lui avea o negrăită dulceaţă şi o infinită gingăşie, iar privirea, care îşi îngăduia încă să fie îndrăzneaţă, era în schimb mistuită de patima cea mai arzătoare ce se poate oglindi în ochii mari ai unui tânăr de optsprezece ani.
Profile Image for Dekarann.
5 reviews
November 18, 2023
Die Handlung spielt in der ersten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts in Frankreich und Italien. Dumas hat es geschafft, im Roman nicht so sehr die historische Realität jener Zeit zu vermitteln, sondern vielmehr den Charakter und die Denkweise seiner Zeitgenossen, ihre edlen Bestrebungen, ihre List und List. Ein weiterer unzweifelhafter Vorteil ist die ausgezeichnete Beschreibung von höfischen Intrigen. Der Leser taucht buchstäblich in alle Feinheiten des königlichen Hofes ein, wo man einen Menschen mit einem Wort zerstören oder zumindest seinem gewohnten Leben berauben kann. Die Handlung ist extrem berühmt verdreht und erinnert manchmal nicht so sehr an einen Roman, sondern an Abenteuerliteratur.

"Liebe braucht wie jede Lichtquelle Dunkelheit, um heller zu leuchten."

"... der Brief eines einfachen Mädchens, wenn er verbrannt wird, gibt nicht weniger Asche als der Brief der Herzogin.
Profile Image for Graziano.
906 reviews4 followers
August 22, 2024
"Quando innalzandosi attraverso i pensieri oltre il tempo, si perdono di vista le meschine necessità quotidiane in quei lampi che illuminano e riassumono tutta una vita, avvenire e passato, l'anima ha talvolta vertigini pericolose e deliri terribili. E quando la memoria non trova che dolori nel passato, quando il cuore è oppresso dall'apprensione del futuro, l'uomo è spesso preda di emozioni terribili e di mortali mancamenti. Bisogna essere ben forti per non crollare sotto il peso dei destini!"
(p. 175)
Profile Image for Dovile.
318 reviews38 followers
June 24, 2025
Gana įdomus romanas, pakankamai, kad nesinorėtų atsitraukti nuo skaitymo. Suprantami istorijos vingiai, ne taip kaip "Trijuose muškietininkuose", kurie man asmeniškai buvo nuobodūs ir per daug melodramiški. Tik šis romanas turėtų vadintis "Bienvenutas", nes jis - pagrindinis ir įdomiausias veikėjas.
Profile Image for Zhenya Ryzhkova.
119 reviews2 followers
October 18, 2024
Есть конспирологическая теория, что Пушкин инсценировал свою смерть, переехал во Францию и там продолжил свою писательскую карьеру под псевдонимом. Это бы многое объяснило.
Александр Сергеевич Дюма - чёртов гений ❤❤😂
513 reviews
February 8, 2018
Роман про кохання учня Бенвенуто Челліні - Асканіо та Коломби. Події відбуваються у XVI столітті. Все закінчується щасливо...
228 reviews
November 21, 2018
Having read The Autobiography of Benvenito Cellini from which this is taken, Ascanio is a bit of a bore.
Profile Image for Síra.
13 reviews6 followers
December 16, 2022
շուտ եմ կարդացել ու շատ մանրամասներ մոռացել եմ արդեն, բայց հիշում եմ, որ շատ էի հավանել )) բայց ամեն դեպքում շատ֊շատ ազդեցիկ չէր։
7 reviews
April 12, 2024
Хорошая книга,есть пару ненужных деталей.Челлини в реальной жизни Коломбу себе бы наверное взял.Очень книгой восхищался как только прочитал,пока не узнал какой Бенвенуто был на самом деле
Profile Image for Mel.
15 reviews
October 15, 2025
Alexander Dumas’s storytelling is just wonderful, enjoyed every aspect of this book from the philosophy and wisdom , to the variety of characters and over all storyline.
4/5.
Profile Image for James.
1,812 reviews18 followers
September 29, 2019
Overall a 3 star rating perhaps sums this story up. In part, it didn’t help that I had a very poor kindle translation to go with it.

Beyond writing about plot and intrigue in the French Royal Family, Dumas is an “ok writer”. Whilst doing descriptive works of countries beyond the borders of France, he is a poor write. I say this as the first part of the book set in Italy, reminiscent of “The Borgias” quite tough and tedious to get through.

Having said that, stick with the book and it becomes beautifully written, stories of love, plotting and scheming which Dumas loves to write about.

Not one of his greats, stick with it, a good book.
Profile Image for Cătălin Feștilă.
20 reviews5 followers
June 20, 2019
This book I read on 1986-1998. Today I saw it and I add it here.
Al Alexandre Dumas books are great with a flavor of adventure, of mystery tangled through the grooves of the mind, pass through the pace of the adventure writer.
47 reviews2 followers
June 28, 2015
Another good Dumas romance. Had me in tears a couple of times, and laughing others. The penultimate scene with the two main characters was masterful.
Profile Image for Kakha.
569 reviews
April 20, 2017
Это отличное произведение. Долго уже говорят, что главное достоинство сочинений Александра Дюмя не в глубоком их смысле и не высокой исторической точности но это не так. Точность изложенных исторических событий не так важна и про смысл вс ене так просто и иднозначно. Многие книги автоа навсегда западают в сердце и в уме и многому учат. А бывает, протешь художественные произведения некоторых признанных корифеев философии, психологии, реализма, прочтешь основательно, медленно, с уважением а все равно в голове через недею ничего не остается. Все верно, в реальной жизни вс етак и есть, то, что остается в гоове и помогает тебе, это и есть стоящее, это и есть нужная философия, прихология и реализм.
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