Alexandre Dumas (; 27 July 1824 – 27 November 1895) was a French author and playwright, best known for the

romantic novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed to the developm ...

La Dame aux Camélias ''The Lady of the Camellias'' (), sometimes called ''Camille'' in English, is a novel by Alexandre Dumas ''fils''. First published in 1848 and subsequently adapted by Dumas for the stage, the play premiered at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in P ...

'' (''The Lady of the Camellias'', usually titled '' Camille'' in English-language versions), published in 1848, which was adapted into

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

's 1853 opera '' La traviata'' (''The Fallen Woman''), as well as numerous stage and film productions. Dumas ( French for "son") was the son of

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

("father"), also a well-known playwright and author of classic works such as ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' and ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...

''. Dumas was admitted to the (French Academy) in 1874 and awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1894.

Biography

Dumas was born in Paris, France, the illegitimate child of (1794–1868), a dressmaker, and novelist

. In 1831 his father legally recognized him and ensured that the young Dumas received the best education possible at the '' Collège Bourbon''. At that time, the law allowed the elder Dumas to take the child away from his mother. Her agony inspired the younger Dumas to write about tragic female characters. In almost all of his writings, he emphasized the moral purpose of literature; in his play (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 (see Illegitimacy in fiction). At boarding schools, he was constantly taunted by his classmates because of his family situation. These issues profoundly influenced his thoughts, behaviour, and writing. Dumas' paternal great-grandparents were Marquis Alexandre-Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie, a Saint Dominican nobleman and ''Général commissaire'' in the Artillery in the colony of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

—now

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

—and Marie-Cessette Dumas, an African woman enslaved by the Marquis. Their son Thomas-Alexandre Dumas became a high-ranking

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

of Revolutionary France. In 1844, Dumas moved to

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

, near Paris, to live with his father. There he met Marie Duplessis, a young

courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...

who would be the inspiration for the character Marguerite Gauthier in his romantic novel ''

La Dame aux camélias ''The Lady of the Camellias'' (), sometimes called ''Camille'' in English, is a novel by Alexandre Dumas ''fils''. First published in 1848 and subsequently adapted by Dumas for the stage, the play premiered at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in P ...

'' (''The Lady of the Camellias''). Adapted into a play, it was titled ''Camille'' in English and became the basis for Verdi's 1853 opera, '' La traviata'', Duplessis undergoing yet another name change, this time to Violetta Valéry. Although he admitted that he had done the adaptation because he needed the money, he had great success with the play, which started his career as a dramatist. He was not only more renowned than 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 ''Affaire Clémenceau'' (1866) achieved some solid success. On 31 December 1864, in Moscow, Dumas married (1826–April 1895), daughter of Johan Reinhold von Knorring and widow of Alexander Grigorievich Narishkin. The couple had two daughters: (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 1867–1943), who married Ernest Lecourt d'Hauterive (1864–1957), son of George Lecourt d'Hauterive and his wife, Léontine de Leusse. After Nadezhda's death, Dumas married Henriette Régnier de La Brière (1851–1934) in June 1895, without issue. In 1874, he was admitted to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and in 1894 he was awarded the ''

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

''. Dumas died at Marly-le-Roi,

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre () is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis in Paris, after the Père Lachaise Cemet ...

in Paris. His grave is some away from that of Marie Duplessis.

Bibliography

Novels

*''Aventures de quatre femmes et d'un perroquet'' (1847) *''Césarine'' (1848) *''

'' (1848) (). Texte online (Gallica)), with a version illustrated by Albert Besnard English titled as ''Camellias'' *''Le Docteur Servan'' (1849) *''Antonine'' (1849) *''Le Roman d'une femme'' (1849) *''Les Quatre Restaurations''. Series of historical novels in ''La Gazette de France'' titled ''Tristan le Roux'', ''Henri de Navarre'', ''Les Deux Frondes'' (1849–51) *''Tristan le Roux'' (1850) *''Trois Hommes forts'' (1850) *''Histoire de la loterie du lingot d'or'' (1851) *''Diane de Lys'' (1851) *''Le Régent Mustel'' (1852) *''Contes et Nouvelles'' (1853) *''La Dame aux perles'' (1854) *''L'Affaire Clémenceau, Mémoire de l'accusé'' (1866), illustrations by Albert Besnard *''L'Homme-femme'' (1872)

Opera

's '' La traviata'' (based on ''The Lady of the Camellias'')

Plays

* ''Atala'' (1848) * '' The Lady of the Camellias'' (1852) * ''Diane de Lys'' (1853) * ''Le Bijou de la reine'' (1855) * ''Le Demi-monde'' (1855) * ''La Question d'argent'' (1857) * ''Le Fils naturel'' (''The Illegitimate Son'', 1858) * ''Un Père prodigue'' (1859) * ''Un Mariage dans un chapeau'' (1859) coll. Vivier * ''L'Ami des femmes'' (1864) * ''Le Supplice d'une femme'' (1865) coll. Emile de Girardin * ''Héloïse Paranquet'' (1866) coll. Durentin * ''Les Idées de Madame Aubray'' (1867) * ''Le Filleul de Pompignac'' (1869) coll. Francois * ''Une Visite de noces'' (1871) * ''La Princesse Georges'' (1871) * ''La Femme de Claude'' (1873) * ''Monsieur Alphonse'' (1873) * ''L'Étrangère'' (1876) * ''Les Danicheff'' (1876) coll. de Corvin * ''La Comtesse Romani'' (1876) coll. Gustave Fould * ''La Princesse de Bagdad'' (1881) * ''Denise'' (1885) * ''Francillon'' (1887) * ''La Route de Thèbes'' (unfinished)

References

External links

* * Lewis, H. D. (1982). ''A Critical Edition of the Manuscripts of 'La Route de Thebes' by Alexandre Dumas fils''. Doctorate, University of Leeds. * * * *
Alexandre Dumas papers
Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries,

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumas, Alexandre, fils 1824 births 1895 deaths 19th-century French novelists 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights * Burials at Montmartre Cemetery French people of Haitian descent Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Members of the Académie Française Writers from Paris Dumas family French male novelists French male dramatists and playwrights French historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period