La dame de Monsoreau, Tome 2

La trilogie Valois / The Valois Trilogy #2.2

by Alexandre Dumas

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Classics, Fiction, France, French Literature

478 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1846

About the author

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

Reviews

[Serena Series · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Bussy conservait, comme on le voit, deux sentiments qui maintiennent l'homme supérieur dans sa sphère dominatrice, même au milieu des égarements de l'amour : ces deux sentiments étaient là circonspection à l'égard de l'étranger et le respect profond de la personne qu'on aime.

bien que ce soit très long, il y a eu de bons éléments. l'intrigue était bien choisie et conforme au style habituel de Dumas. mais ce n'était en réalité pas suffisant. Bussy évolue au cours de cette histoire et cela ne m'a pas si plu que ça. il était un peu trop dur à mon goût pour être le héros de cette histoire. cela reste tout de même mieux que Chicot qui, malgré l'humour qu'il apporte, lui, prenait trop de place au fur et à mesure. c'était très redondant.

contrairement aux Trois Mousquetaires, j'ai été surprise de ne voir aucunement des échos de ce qui s'était passé dans le livre précédent ; et ce qui m'avait fortement surprise. heureusement je suis tombé sur un passage intéressant contenant une référence à La Reine Margot :

"Pour la première fois de sa vie, en se sentant seul et isolé, M. d'Anjou éprouva comme une espèce de remords d'avoir sacrifié La Mole et Coconnas."

[Dovile · Rating 2 out of 5]

Šita knyga labiau ne apie grafienę ir nelaimingos meilės istoriją, o apie juokdarį, jo karalių ir politines intrigas.

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Il s'agit encore d'une agréable lecture avec de l'humour et une vaste aventure.

[Aredhel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came from the star-crossed lovers, stayed for Chicot

[Agathe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars