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Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) est un écrivain français. Il est né à Villers-Cotterêts (Aisne). Il reçut une éducation plut‘t mediocre. Après des études négligées, il travailla comme clerc chez un notaire et débuta la rédaction de pièces de théâtre avec son ami, le vicomte Adolphe Ribbing de Leuven. Ces premiers essais furent autant d’échecs. En 1823, il entra au service du Duc d’Orléans comme expéditionnaire grâce à sa calligraphie. Il lisait alors Shakespeare, Walter Scott, Goethe et Schiller qui furent les sources d’inspiration principales de son théâtre. Il continua à écrire pour le théâtre et connut enfin le succès grâce à la représentation en 1829 de Henri III et sa cour par la Comédie-Française. Ce succès continua pendant toute sa carrière littéraire dans ses genres de pré le drame, le roman historique et le feuilleton. Ses oeuvres Les Trois Mousquetaires (1844), Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (1845-1846) et Le Vicomte de Bragelonne (1848).

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1845

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About the author

Alexandre Dumas

6,860 books12.5k 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
203 (35%)
4 stars
222 (39%)
3 stars
115 (20%)
2 stars
19 (3%)
1 star
7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Roman Clodia.
2,925 reviews4,758 followers
June 25, 2016
This is my favourite Dumas novel: set in the French Renaissance, this deals with the clash between French Huguenots (Protestants) and Catholics, and the machinations of the French court presided over by the dowager queen, Catherine de Medici.

That Dumas manages to meld the political with the romantic (in all senses of that word) is both typical of his writing and also hugely impressive. Marguerite herself, called Margot by her brother, King Charles IX, is a luminous presence within the book and lights up every scene in which she is present: from the opening wedding where she is married off to the Huguenot Henri de Navarre while surreptitiously communicating with her lover Henri de Guise, to the first meeting between her and La Mole in the dank corridors of the Louvre.

Written in the middle of the nineteenth century, this is a historicised and mediated vision of the Renaissance so we need to be as wary of treating this as historically accurate as we should be of more modern historical novelists. That aside, this is a wonderful novel: alternately gothic, serious, romantic, comic and macabre
Profile Image for Dylan Lockhart.
84 reviews10 followers
March 3, 2018
Ce que j’ai toujours regretté chez Dumas, c’est son manque de poésie : sa plume n’emporte pas et ne démontre aucune musicalité. En revanche, il est doué pour les intrigues : les pages tournent vite et les rebondissements sont dignes d’une série à succès. La Reine Margot, ce n’est pas le "Jeu des Trônes" mais pas loin : intrigues amoureuses, royales et perfides se mêlent, formant un nid de vipères dans lequel on a envie de s’enfoncer bien malgré soi !
Allez, j’enchaîne avec le second tome.

« — Ne désirez-vous pas savoir encore autre chose, monsieur le comte ?
— Si fait, dit Coconnas ; je désire savoir si je suis véritablement amoureux.
— Vous l’êtes, dit René.
— Comment le savez-vous ?
— Parce que vous le demandez. »
P. 314

[chronique complète à venir]
Profile Image for Ni.
Author 3 books195 followers
November 26, 2020
J'ai trouvé ce livre assez déprimant.
D'abord, les massacres des huguenots du jour de Saint-Barthélemy, ensuite, les deux héros: ça c'est une vraiment belle histoire en fait après deux attendant de se tuer entre eux ils se deviennent les meilleures amie et muert ensemble, malheureusement pour quelque chose qu'ils ont pas fait, et ensuite les hommes prix d'une famille maudite d'être royal.
Mais Alexandre Dumas a su très bien rendre intéressant tous ces histoires et intrigues politique.
Profile Image for Ziggy.
145 reviews1 follower
August 23, 2025
C'est plutôt un 3,5 d'ailleurs. L'ensemble est agréable, l'histoire enlevée, les personnages soit terrifiants, soit truculents, et parfois les deux à la fois. Personnellement, j'aime beaucoup Catherine de Médicis, elle est terrible ! Un aspect négatif : l'irrégularité d'intérêt de certains chapitres, je trouve notamment que les histoires d'amour sont longues et un peu " gnan-gnan".
Profile Image for Tiago Alexandre.
11 reviews
January 10, 2024
"Lecture très facile, parfaite pour les débutants dans la langue française. Le livre parle de la guerre entre les catholiques et les huguenots, en particulier "Le massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy", et comment l'amour apparaît à tout moment."
Profile Image for Katu Miletich.
635 reviews3 followers
January 16, 2021
Me encantó esta lectura. No imaginé que iba a compenetrarme tanto con los personajes. En un momento me vi riendo y hasta llorando con ellos.
Dumas escribió esta historia en el siglo XIX, pero todos los hechos transcurren en el siglo XVI, en Paris. Durante el reinado de Carlos IX, justo cuando el odio, la lucha y las matanzas entre católicos y protestantes era pan de cada día.
De una forma entretenida, Dumas nos narra la vida en la corte, sus intrigas y conspiraciones. Las traiciones y lealtades. Los amoríos, celos y pasiones ocultas entre las paredes del Louvre.
Dumas te atrapa. Tiene una forma de narrar los hechos que te cautiva y te hace parte de todo. Te hace morderte la lengua en las conspiraciones y sonreir de medio lado cuando algun intento de asesinato salia mal. Te hace reirte a carcajadas con las ocurrencias de La Mole y Cocconas y suspirar con las demostraciones de amor. Y confieso que hasta bote mis lagrimones cuando me acercaba al final de la historia...
Muy bien documentada! Pasa desapercibida la linea entre la ficción y la realidad. Un genio Dumas!
Me encantó!

Aplica al No.16: Historia que transcurre hace más de 200 años de #bgchallenge2021
37 reviews
February 15, 2025
It’s like succession but set in the 1500s and it’s royal intrigues instead of suss business deals
Profile Image for Adeline.
212 reviews6 followers
March 13, 2022
I expected to be so much more taken by this book, seeing as I generally greatly enjoy Dumas's tales of fun adventures and high drama. Reading about the St Barthélemy night in a different context than primary and middle schools history lessons was equally appealing.

And I did find the story captivating for the first two hundred or so pages! Dumas can make scenes that are fast-paced and full of dramatic intrigue, with characters hiding behind curtains and an evil queen with poison as her trademark. But after a while I needed slightly lighter prose and a bit less OTT drama to sustain my initial interest.
Profile Image for Diana Trăncău.
331 reviews8 followers
June 9, 2016
Mă întristează faptul că oamenii își purtau atâta ură încât erau capabili să ucidă fără nicio urmă de regret și totul datorită diferenței de credință. Ciudată este relație dintre La Mole și Coconnas , cum trec de la ură la prietenie și cum ajung să iubească, deși la început pariază pe iubitele lor inexistente. Nu mă pot lega de felul de a scrie al lui Dumas fiindcă îl apreciez nespus de mult, însă nu pot aprecia oamenii din acea vreme, plăcerea lor de a vâna, de a ucide când sunt insultați, de a înșela. Autoritatea pe care o posedă regina-mamă și modul ei de fi îmi provoacă dezgust.
Profile Image for Emma.
230 reviews21 followers
January 8, 2023
Me encanta ver cómo hemos cambiado la forma de escribir, esta lectura no es apta para todo el mundo, la forma de narrar de Dumas puede ser pesada, aunque es lo que parece a priori, pues los sucesos van uno detrás de otro y a medida que avanzaba el libro no quería soltarlo para saber qué iba a suceder. Es una mezcla de historia con ficción historia, cosa que me encanta. Así que estoy deseando continuar con la trilogía y saber qué va a pasar con los personajes. Ya os digo que George RR Martin tiene inspiración de aquí, porque menudo juego de tronos literal.
94 reviews2 followers
December 16, 2023
This little known epic from Dumas (who penned among other things The Three Musketeers) is about one of the most infamous events in the history of European religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants that dominated the 16th and 17th centuries (and plague Northern Ireland to this day), the Saint Bartholemew Massacre that took place in Paris on the evening following a royal marriage that was supposed to bring the two sides together. Something like 15,000 visiting Protestants (called Hugenouts in France) were murdered in their beds by mobs of armed Catholic militia urged on by the King of France Charles IX and most of the Royal Family.
Only one, Margot who was marriage to the Protestant Henry of Navarre on that bloody day, was horrified that her marriage day was used as pretext for the ensuing bloodbath. After that, though she didn't love Henry she did everything in her power to save him including getting him to switch to Catholicism to save his life. Both knew it was a sham but it stayed the hand of the King.
The real villain of the story is the infamous Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici whose attempts to do away with Henry were as determined as Margot's attempts to save him. The tale is somewhat epic in scale with a vast array of characters, almost all historic, about a shameful but little-known period of French History. The English translation of this tale is excellent with a section of explanatory notes in the back which help to untangle unfamiliar topics or descriptions used by the author. This is both enlightening and annoying as I was forever referring back to it as I was reading whether I needed it or not! I learned a lot of history along the way and heard that a decent French movie had been made in 1994 following Dumas' tale. I might check it out if it ever comes online.
Profile Image for Jota Houses.
1,585 reviews11 followers
December 13, 2017
Un novelón de intrigas palaciegas con el futuro Enrique IV de Francia como protagonista era la continuación natural de A Column of Fire. Su visión de la Matanza de San Bartolomé no puede ser más diferente, por un lado la naturalidad y hasta disciplencia con la que se trata un crimen de esa magnitud se aleja mucho de la narración de Follet, más acorde con los lectores de este siglo. Igualmente la responsabilidad de los hechos recae sobre distintos personajes por necesidades narrativas. Tras la matanza, que todos los protagonistas aceptan con una naturalidad pasmosa, cada uno sigue con sus intrigas y amoríos: que es la chicha de la novela. Francamente, por el gabinete de la reina Margot pasan más testigos incómodos de las conversaciones del dormitorio que por la estación de metro de Champs Elysees.
Una vez superado el choque con la mentalidad folletinesca, la historia te atrapa y se lee con gusto. Dumas es un gran maestro y se nota hasta en esta obra menor si la comparamos con Los Tres Mosqueteros o El Conde de Montecristo.
Da para serie de HBO pero me contentaré con ver la película y a Miguel Bosé como duque de Guisa.
Profile Image for Magda.
448 reviews
January 13, 2021
A romance ? Perhaps. And an historical novel full of court intrigue ? For sure.
An intertwining of courtly love and numerous foiled death plots, along with not a few successful death plots, all combine to make up this riveting novel of the court of Charles IX, starting with the tragic 1572 Saint-Barthélémy massacre of France’s huguenots (protestant Christians) ; passing through the machinations of Catherine de Medici, hunting excursions and romantic tristes ; and eventually concluding with the succession of the throne. Definitely a good read.
Read in French ; not sure how Dumas is in translation.
Profile Image for Ragne Rämmal-Orason.
119 reviews5 followers
October 28, 2024
Kuninganna Margot on ajalooline isik nimega Marguerite de Valois, Prantsusmaa kuninga Charles IX õde, kes abiellus Navarra kuningas Henriga. Abielu sõlmiti katoliiklastest riigivalitsejate, eesotsas kuninga ema Caterina de Mediciga, vandenõu osana protestantlastest hugenottide vastu. Navarra Henri oli protestant ning pulmadega meelitati Pariisi suur hulk hugenottidest ülikuid. 1572. aasta 24. augusti ööd tuntakse Pärtliöö veresaunana.

Minu kommentaar: Lugesin seda raamatut õige kaua. Ei olnud päris minu "teetass". Natuke liiga paatoslik ja samas kättemaksuihast sõjakas ning verine. Sobilik vist pigem nooremale lugejale :)
238 reviews3 followers
August 8, 2020
Il m'a fallu revoir l'histoire de France et notemment la période de 1540-1575, pour comprendre le Roman "La reine Margot". Comprendre qui est qui. Quels sont les fils de Catherine de Méd

Henri II et Catherine de Médicis ont eu dix enfants:

François II (1544-1560) ;
Élisabeth (1545-1568), mariée au roi Philippe II d'Espagne ;
Claude (1547-1575), mariée au duc Charles III de Lorraine ;
Louis (1549) ;
Charles IX (1550-1574) ;
Henri III (1551-1589) ;
Marguerite alias Reine Margot (1553-1615), mariée au roi Henri III de Navarre (futur Henri IV de France) ;
11 reviews
August 17, 2021
Le livre était un peu lent et épuisant à lire au début, mais lorsque commence l’action il est presque impossible d’arrêter sa lecture. C’est une véritable tragédie et la fin était dévastante mais c’est cela qui rend le livre unique et poétique. C’est vrai que les mots utilisés dans certains contextes sont un petit peu difficiles à comprendre puisqu’on n’utilise plus les mots parlés auparavant. C’était une intéressante manière de s’informer sur la guerre des trois henris ainsi que le massacre des huguenots au 16ème siècle en France.
9 reviews
August 28, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this read! It’s filled with spicy intrigues about the french royal family and the queen-mother Catherine di Medici, lots of plotting against literally everybody, and of course there’s a heart-warming love story that will make you cry your eyes out!
I strongly recommend this book!
Profile Image for anhelli.
16 reviews
June 30, 2024
Absolutely amazing – gives wonderful history context and lets you learn by reading a story that has no boring moments. Something is always happening. Recommended for people who like royalty type of books as well as history fans.
21 reviews
December 6, 2025
Roman historique à la Dumas, donc très bien ! Ça se lit tout seul, comme d'ailleurs le roman qui vient ensuite:
"La dame de Monsoreau" .
C'est aussi une mini série TV des années 70 avec Karin Petersen et François Maistre (Le chef de la sûreté des Brigades du Tigre)
Profile Image for Céline.
634 reviews39 followers
May 9, 2017
Juste Magnifique (beautiful), j'aurais juste voulu avoir plus de relations charnelles entre Margot et son mari, Henry de Navarre.

Très bien écrit, se lit avec beaucoup de fluidité.
Profile Image for Sarah.
245 reviews24 followers
March 19, 2018
J'adore le style épique de Dumas. Par contre on sent bien le roman-feuilleton sur certains développements qui servent plus à occuper de l'espace qu'à faire avancer quoi que ce soit !
Profile Image for Suzanne.
110 reviews4 followers
November 21, 2020
(3.5⭐pour l'instant) review quand j'aurai fini les deux tomes
Profile Image for Russell Jones.
75 reviews5 followers
April 19, 2021
Fantastic book I love the movie (which is on its way courtesy of Amazon) and this is a great read.
I am going to check out more from Dumas.
Profile Image for Morea pacifique.
11 reviews1 follower
January 26, 2016
Passionnant de bout en bout, peu importe que ce soit un feuilleton! Balzac, Dickens Dostoïevski écrivaient aussi des feuilletons. Nul se songe à s'en plaindre...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews

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