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Camille: A Play in Five Acts
Leather Binding on Spine and Corners with Golden Leaf Printing on round Spine (extra customization on request like complete leather, Golden Screen printing in Front, Color Leather, Colored book etc.) Reprinted in 2018 with the help of original edition published long back [1857]. This book is printed in black & white, sewing binding for longer life, Printed on high quality Paper, re-sized as per Current standards, professionally processed without changing its contents. As these are old books, we processed each page manually and make them readable but in some cases some pages which are blur or missing or black spots. If it is multi volume set, then it is only single volume, if you wish to order a specific or all the volumes you may contact us. We expect that you will understand our compulsion in these books. We found this book important for the readers who want to know more about our old treasure so we brought it back to the shelves. Hope you will like it and give your comments and suggestions. - eng, Pages 72. EXTRA 10 DAYS APART FROM THE NORMAL SHIPPING PERIOD WILL BE REQUIRED FOR LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. COMPLETE LEATHER WILL COST YOU EXTRA US$ 25 APART FROM THE LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. {FOLIO EDITION IS ALSO AVAILABLE.} Complete Camille; a play in five acts. Translated from the French of Alexander Dumas, Jr., by Matilda Heron. 1857 Dumas, Alexandre, -.
72 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1857
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About the author
Alexandre Dumas fils
426 books546 followersAlexandre Dumas (fils) (son) was born in Paris, France, the illegitimate child of Marie-Laure-Catherine Labay (1794-1868), a dressmaker, and novelist Alexandre Dumas. During 1831 his father legally recognized him and ensured that the young Dumas received the best education possible at the Institution Goubaux and the Collège Bourbon. At that time, the law allowed the elder Dumas to take the child away from his mother. Her agony inspired Dumas fils to write about tragic female characters. In almost all of his writings, he emphasized the moral purpose of literature and in his play The Illegitimate Son (1858) he espoused the belief that if a man fathers an illegitimate child then he has an obligation to legitimize the child and marry the woman.
Dumas' paternal great-grandparents were a French nobleman and a Haitian woman. In boarding schools, Dumas fils was constantly taunted by his classmates. These issues all profoundly influenced his thoughts, behaviour, and writing.
During 1844 Dumas moved to Saint-Germain-en-Laye to live with his father. There, he met Marie Duplessis, a young courtesan who would be the inspiration for his romantic novel The Lady of the Camellias. Adapted into a play, it was titled in English (especially in the United States) as Camille and is the basis for Verdi's 1853 opera, La Traviata. Although he admitted that he had done the adaptation because he needed the money, he had a great success with the play. Thus began the career of Dumas fils as a dramatist, which was not only more renowned than that of his father during his lifetime but also dominated the serious French stage for most of the second half of the 19th century. After this, he virtually abandoned writing novels (though his semi-autobiographical L'Affaire Clemenceau (1867) achieved some success).
On 31 December 1864, in Moscow, Dumas married Nadjeschda von Knorring (1826 – April 1895), daughter of Johan Reinhold von Knorring and wife, and widow of Alexander, Prince Naryschkine. The couple had two daughters: Marie-Alexandrine-Henriette Dumas, born 20 November 1860, who married Maurice Lippmann and was the mother of Serge Napoléon Lippmann (1886–1975) and Auguste Alexandre Lippmann (1881–1960); and Jeanine Dumas (3 May 1867–), who married Ernest d' Hauterive (1864–1957), son of George Lecourt d' Hauterive and wife (married in 1861) Léontine de Leusse. After Naryschkine's death, he married in June 1895 Henriette Régnier de La Brière (1851–1934), without issue.
During 1874, he was admitted to the Académie française, and in 1894 he was awarded the Légion d'honneur.
Alexandre Dumas fils died at Marly-le-Roi, Yvelines, on November 27, 1895 and was interred in the Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris. His grave is, perhaps coincidentally, only some 100 metres away from that of Marie Duplessis.
Dumas' paternal great-grandparents were a French nobleman and a Haitian woman. In boarding schools, Dumas fils was constantly taunted by his classmates. These issues all profoundly influenced his thoughts, behaviour, and writing.
During 1844 Dumas moved to Saint-Germain-en-Laye to live with his father. There, he met Marie Duplessis, a young courtesan who would be the inspiration for his romantic novel The Lady of the Camellias. Adapted into a play, it was titled in English (especially in the United States) as Camille and is the basis for Verdi's 1853 opera, La Traviata. Although he admitted that he had done the adaptation because he needed the money, he had a great success with the play. Thus began the career of Dumas fils as a dramatist, which was not only more renowned than that of his father during his lifetime but also dominated the serious French stage for most of the second half of the 19th century. After this, he virtually abandoned writing novels (though his semi-autobiographical L'Affaire Clemenceau (1867) achieved some success).
On 31 December 1864, in Moscow, Dumas married Nadjeschda von Knorring (1826 – April 1895), daughter of Johan Reinhold von Knorring and wife, and widow of Alexander, Prince Naryschkine. The couple had two daughters: Marie-Alexandrine-Henriette Dumas, born 20 November 1860, who married Maurice Lippmann and was the mother of Serge Napoléon Lippmann (1886–1975) and Auguste Alexandre Lippmann (1881–1960); and Jeanine Dumas (3 May 1867–), who married Ernest d' Hauterive (1864–1957), son of George Lecourt d' Hauterive and wife (married in 1861) Léontine de Leusse. After Naryschkine's death, he married in June 1895 Henriette Régnier de La Brière (1851–1934), without issue.
During 1874, he was admitted to the Académie française, and in 1894 he was awarded the Légion d'honneur.
Alexandre Dumas fils died at Marly-le-Roi, Yvelines, on November 27, 1895 and was interred in the Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris. His grave is, perhaps coincidentally, only some 100 metres away from that of Marie Duplessis.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 30, 2025
This time I read the novella, last time I read the play.
Weeks on after reading the novella I am still stuck for words; from the outset this seemed like a tragic love story instead it showed a complex picture of love and survival.
This is very different to the play I listened to months back, as a production it was wonderful and moving, and covered the same themes as the novella but it had less complexity than is here.
There were moments this story challenged my ideas of love and passion, but by the end it mattered less than the picture that emerged of human fragility. This, which was tragic, couldn’t easily be explained as being ‘good’ and ‘bad’; what’s left is the damage prejudice (and societal expectations) does.
In an alternative fictional reality would Marguerite Gautier and Armand Duval find the love and happiness they crave for? I can only hope they do.
Weeks on after reading the novella I am still stuck for words; from the outset this seemed like a tragic love story instead it showed a complex picture of love and survival.
This is very different to the play I listened to months back, as a production it was wonderful and moving, and covered the same themes as the novella but it had less complexity than is here.
There were moments this story challenged my ideas of love and passion, but by the end it mattered less than the picture that emerged of human fragility. This, which was tragic, couldn’t easily be explained as being ‘good’ and ‘bad’; what’s left is the damage prejudice (and societal expectations) does.
In an alternative fictional reality would Marguerite Gautier and Armand Duval find the love and happiness they crave for? I can only hope they do.
February 21, 2013
This is one of those lovely reading experiences that you stumble into that makes you want to keep searching out good literature for the rest of your life--especially by the way good literature can sometimes sneak up and surprise you. In this case, the sneaking up happened over a prolonged period of time. Interested in reading a lesser known novel by Alexander Dumas, I found the book Camille on my bookshelf at school and excitedly picked it up. I immediately noticed that the writing style did not match that of the Dumas I had come to know with The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. I then found out that this book was written by Dumas's son, of the same name. My interest suddenly reached a new level … a more obscure name but still with a great writing heritage. I'd come across a gem!
… And then I got my Kindle and Camille was momentarily misplaced (ironic, since it is free on the Kindle as well). I always meant to get back to it, but I never did. Not, that is, before my wife did. Interested in doing some reading during the dreary winter months, my wife saw this book at home on our desk and she--an unabashed believer in judging books by their covers--liked the binding, so she picked it up. Within a week, she had finished and found it fascinating. She talked to me about it, and I sat in jealousy listening to the reading experience she had that I intended to have with that very novel. Then she did some research on the author and discovered that Dumas, fils had adapted the novel into a play. A play! Why if that isn't my territory, I don't know what is!
I sought the play out on archive.org, downloaded it onto (this time) my iPad and zoomed through it. The play was excellent, my wife and I had a wonderful bonding experience through literature as we discussed the similarities and differences (book nerd DREAM), and I feel like a smarter, better person after having read it.
The play itself is fairly simple (in fact, being too simple might be its only weakness and may be why you would want to read the book instead), but it is fascinating and noble in a Shakespearian tragedy sort of way (though this time with a female protagonist). The moral issues explored and the harsh judgment of our society leave for great moments of meditation and discussion. So much so that even if you don't have a spouse to read the book along with you as you read the play, I still recommend it.
… And then I got my Kindle and Camille was momentarily misplaced (ironic, since it is free on the Kindle as well). I always meant to get back to it, but I never did. Not, that is, before my wife did. Interested in doing some reading during the dreary winter months, my wife saw this book at home on our desk and she--an unabashed believer in judging books by their covers--liked the binding, so she picked it up. Within a week, she had finished and found it fascinating. She talked to me about it, and I sat in jealousy listening to the reading experience she had that I intended to have with that very novel. Then she did some research on the author and discovered that Dumas, fils had adapted the novel into a play. A play! Why if that isn't my territory, I don't know what is!
I sought the play out on archive.org, downloaded it onto (this time) my iPad and zoomed through it. The play was excellent, my wife and I had a wonderful bonding experience through literature as we discussed the similarities and differences (book nerd DREAM), and I feel like a smarter, better person after having read it.
The play itself is fairly simple (in fact, being too simple might be its only weakness and may be why you would want to read the book instead), but it is fascinating and noble in a Shakespearian tragedy sort of way (though this time with a female protagonist). The moral issues explored and the harsh judgment of our society leave for great moments of meditation and discussion. So much so that even if you don't have a spouse to read the book along with you as you read the play, I still recommend it.
January 10, 2019
Lots of wonderful lines but the premise feels a little forced. The beginning starts off like a comedy. My favorite line at the beginning is, "My dear friend if I were to listen to all the people who are in love with me, I'd have no time for dinner!"
But then the play devolves into tragedy tragedy tragedy. Even so, it never fully gains a sense of realism.
But then the play devolves into tragedy tragedy tragedy. Even so, it never fully gains a sense of realism.
October 13, 2021
Literally so dramatic but so good.
July 25, 2022
Bardzo dramatic i niby jest git, ale nie przeczytałabym tego ponownie
June 24, 2019
This tragic play, written by Dumas in 1858, became a runaway best seller as a novel , a play and a numerous movies...and even as Giuseppe Verdi's great opera "La Traviata." Camille speaks to us today even as it did 150 years ago-how women who strayed from society's definition of the "right path" are often never forgiven.
Read it and weep.
Read it and weep.
May 27, 2024
I adore this play. I've read it probably 25 times (in a translation by Edith Reynolds and Nigel Playfair). It's witty and wise and much, much better than its reputation as a formulaic "well-made play" might have one believe.
December 8, 2022
loved it but didn't reach 5 stars because that spot is reserved for the original novel
April 16, 2022
3.5 / audiobook
June 26, 2017
La Dame Aux Camelias is good practice for language learners. And that's about it.
The title that belongs to a novel and a theatre play by the same author, which allows for comparisons of style and quality.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that the play is slow, but it can't be denied that it is, ultimately, an adaptation, rather than an original piece. The acts are more like a collage of important scenes as opposed to a cohesive play. The first scene is a supper scene: gossip, pleasantries, recollections - it is a waste of time.
The sharp dialogue and characterization and action are absent in an initial discussion that does well in a novel, as a means to set a specific atmosphere, but in this type of play the actors impose an atmosphere.
It's slow, making it feel much longer, and, with the exception of the last two acts, boring.
The title that belongs to a novel and a theatre play by the same author, which allows for comparisons of style and quality.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that the play is slow, but it can't be denied that it is, ultimately, an adaptation, rather than an original piece. The acts are more like a collage of important scenes as opposed to a cohesive play. The first scene is a supper scene: gossip, pleasantries, recollections - it is a waste of time.
The sharp dialogue and characterization and action are absent in an initial discussion that does well in a novel, as a means to set a specific atmosphere, but in this type of play the actors impose an atmosphere.
It's slow, making it feel much longer, and, with the exception of the last two acts, boring.
July 18, 2016
I actually listened to an audio production of this produced by Blackstone Audio, but I can't find it on here. I chose it because I thought it was by Alexandre Dumas of Count of Monte Cristo, but no, this is Alexandre Dumas the YOUNGER, apparently. Anyway, very dramatic in the best possible way and so so scandalous.
Read Harder 2016: Read a play.
Read Harder 2016: Read a play.
July 13, 2010
Read not as a five act play, but on my 'Kindle for iPhone'.
Read
October 4, 2010Longest three chapters I've ever read in my life.
July 29, 2014
Love is a choice in a very different time than ours - but how different is it, really?
August 5, 2021
The book was better, and it wasn’t even a good book. Dumas fils was a bit of a legend for having a concept greater than his skill level but just going for it anyway.
March 12, 2024
«Vous savez ce que c'est que d'aimer une femme, vous savez comment s'abrègent les journées, et avec quelle amoureuse paresse on se laisse porter au lendemain. Vous n'ignorez pas cet oubli de toutes choses, qui naît d'un amour violent, confiant et partagé. Tout être qui n'est pas la femme aimée semble un être inutile dans la création. On regrette d'avoir déjà jeté des parcelles de son cœur à d'autres femmes, et l'on n'entrevoit pas la possibilité de presser jamais une autre main que celle que l'on tient dans les siennes. Le cerveau n'admet ni travail ni souvenir, rien enfin de ce qui pourrait le distraire de l'unique pensée qu'on lui offre sans cesse. Chaque jour on découvre dans sa maîtresse un charme nouveau, une volupté inconnue. L'existence n'est plus que l'accomplissement réitéré d'un désir continu, l'âme n'est plus que la vestale chargée d'entretenir le feu sacré de l'amour.»
Il s'agit d'une véritable et très touchante histoire d'amour et j'adorais la façon dont laquelle Dumas l'a conté au lecteur. Pourtant, les deux jeunes, unis par le désir se se dévouer pour l'autre, sont condamnés à une fin tragique. Même si on connaît celle-ci dès le début du livre, ce n'est pas elle qui détermine l'histoire, bien que l'histoire se termine avec elle.
Ce que j'ai appris et qu'il faut vivre et aimer sans peur et avec l'hônneté de tout son cœur avant qu'il soit trop tard. Cela inclue (parfois) ne pas se laisser dissuader par des discours qui semblent être si raissonables. Parce que l'amour n'est pas parfaite.
Et pour finir: si votre familie ne veut pas le mieux pour vous, cherchez-le vous-même afin de trouver votre bonheur.
Pourquoi est-ce qu'elle pense, qu'elle peut se mêler en tout?
Il s'agit d'une véritable et très touchante histoire d'amour et j'adorais la façon dont laquelle Dumas l'a conté au lecteur. Pourtant, les deux jeunes, unis par le désir se se dévouer pour l'autre, sont condamnés à une fin tragique. Même si on connaît celle-ci dès le début du livre, ce n'est pas elle qui détermine l'histoire, bien que l'histoire se termine avec elle.
Ce que j'ai appris et qu'il faut vivre et aimer sans peur et avec l'hônneté de tout son cœur avant qu'il soit trop tard. Cela inclue (parfois) ne pas se laisser dissuader par des discours qui semblent être si raissonables. Parce que l'amour n'est pas parfaite.
Et pour finir: si votre familie ne veut pas le mieux pour vous, cherchez-le vous-même afin de trouver votre bonheur.
Pourquoi est-ce qu'elle pense, qu'elle peut se mêler en tout?
May 29, 2024
The version that I was reading of Camille was 234 pages long and that I started to read the play near the beginning of the month. Not sure why Goodreads didn't have a longer version of the book. Moreover, Armond's story of falling in love with "a kept woman" was an interesting story. I can under why his father was fearful that Armond's interest in Marguerite would possibly jeopardize Blanche, Armond's sister, change of a decent marriage. Dumas took what I would call a taboo topic and put some light in it. The sad part about the play was that you actually hoped it would've ended with Armond and Marguerite staying together and get ripped apart do to society's standards at the time. Now a days, some people who were in a dark place and thought they would never get out, are able to. Armond in my opinion was a symbol of trust and not just someone, who was in love with Marguerite. Marguerite herself, had been realistic throughout the play both with herself and Armond once she let him into her life. However, the play was over from the beginning, but was later explained in depth from Armond's account of the story to a new acquaintance, who later on writes a manuscript about Marguerite.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2024
This may have been a poor translation or a bowdlerised adaptation for the American stage (I couldn't find a version in the original French), but it definitely came across as the weakest of all the adaptations of the story I have come across so far. I now have more respect for what the MGM scenarists did when they adapted the play to make a hit for Greta Garbo - the screenplay isn't very close to the original novel, but it certainly isn't close to this production, which supposedly was a far greater hit than the book and kickstarted the author's career as a playwright rather than a novelist. It's hard for me to see why.
October 20, 2021
Boy is this romantic! It brings up a lot of morality issues and double standards but never resolved anything.
September 13, 2023
perfection
May 2, 2024
This was literally so good wtf
September 3, 2024
3,5💐
hab vor jahren mal das buch gelesen, mochte ich persönlich mehr und das drama als vorbereitung yk. könnte ich vielleicht in betracht ziehen, ich mag marguerites figur
hab vor jahren mal das buch gelesen, mochte ich persönlich mehr und das drama als vorbereitung yk. könnte ich vielleicht in betracht ziehen, ich mag marguerites figur
September 17, 2024
Should’ve known it was sad when I saw Alexandre Dumas but it read me to filth
July 15, 2025
everything is tuberculosis (by john green)
June 4, 2024
God this was so sad, kill me 😭
January 2, 2011
I read Camille quite sometime ago. It was shortly after watching Educating Rita. I picked up Peer Gynt and Camille from the library. I really couldn't get into Peer Gynt, so I read Camille. I didn't just simply cry, I wept. I love period stories and this one was, in my opinion, one of the best. Someone told me that Dumas was chastised for writing Camille and exposing how the wealthy behaved in so-called polite society. Another reason I read Camille is because at the time I was not aware of pere and fils, and thought that a man could not write a good "romance novel" after writing such books as the Three Musketeers and the Man in the Iron Mask.
March 14, 2017
I didn't read the play. I read the book but it doesn't show up in the search.
Loved it. Couldn't put it down. Paris, 1840's. A 'kept woman" is dying but Armand falls in love with her anyway. They spend months together and then it falls apart of course. She dies and he is quilt ridden.
Loved it. Couldn't put it down. Paris, 1840's. A 'kept woman" is dying but Armand falls in love with her anyway. They spend months together and then it falls apart of course. She dies and he is quilt ridden.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2015
Poignant, lovely and sad. A beautifully written tale of tragic love. The characters are not always likeable but they are definitely human and I was glad I met them on the page.
April 19, 2017
I am glad that at least Armand found out the truth and had a chance to talk with Marguerite before she died.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews