Among the literary greats who have emerged from France, Alexander Dumas (24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870)
Among the literary greats who have emerged from France, Alexander Dumas (24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870) stands out with his popular set of historical novels which have adventure as their forte. Dumas was the grandson of a French noble man of high authority and a slave of Haitian origin. Many of his novels such as The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers have been made into serials. He has also written plays and was a correspondent.
Although Alexander Dumas was born in poverty, in 1822 after monarchy was restored, he went to Paris where he worked for Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans. In Paris, he began writing plays for the theater and magazines. Henry III and His Courts, his first play won critical acclaim and his next play, Christine also became popular.
Then Dumas turned his attention to writing more novels. When newspapers of the quarter of the 18th century required serial novels, in 1838, he re-wrote one of his plays titled Le Capitaine Paul to create his first serial novel.
The eight volume collection of essays on famous criminals and crimes taken from European History was complied in the duration of 1839 to 1841 with the assistance of his several friends. He could write many novels because he had many acquaintances such as Paul Lacroix, Paul Bocage and others, but the prominent among them was Auguste Maquet who outlined the important plots and made significant contributions to novels. Prominent among them were The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers and its sequels.
Although he gained name and fame, he was frequently into debt as he concentrated mainly on lavish living. The ouster of King Louis Philippe in a revolt was the last straw as his predecessor and newly elected President, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was not in favor of Alexander Dumas. He fled to Brussels, Belgium and then to Russia where he was already popular through his works. After spending nearly two years in Russia, he went to Italy in 1861 where he founded the newspaper named as Indipendente, before returning to Paris in 1864.