Alexandre Dumas

CELEBRATED CRIMES Vol I, Part 1: The Borgias There are dreadful - perhaps scurrilous - rumors about the Borgias of renaissance Italy, and here Dumas, author of such classics as THE THREE MUSKETEERS, in his Celebrated Crimes series, dishes up the dirt in all its ugly glory. This book was not written for children. Dumas has minced no words in describing the violent scenes of a violent time. In some instances facts appear distorted out of their true...

A man makes a devil's bargain with a mysterious wolf in one of the first werewolf novels ever written from the author of The Three Musketeers. When the shoemaker Thibault is unjustly abused by the Lord of Vez, he encounters an unlikely chance at revenge. A huge wolf approaches him, walking upright on its hind legs, and offers Thibault a pact. Every time he wishes harm on another man, the wolf will grant the wish, in exchange for one of Thibault's...

This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. The Knight of Maison Rouge (1845) shows what happens when two people from opposite political camps fall in love during Robespierre's reign of terror. Lieutenant Maurice Lindey is an ardent young republican who hates tyranny and injustice whether they come from the left or right. But such even-handedness is a liability at a time when addressing someone as "monsieur"...

'The Lady of the Camellias' is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, subsequently adapted for the stage (becoming known as 'Camille' in the English-speaking world), and then becoming the opera 'La Traviata.' The title character is based on Marie Duplessis, the real-life lover of Dumas. In this tale, a young provincial bourgeois, Armand, falls in love with a 'courtisane' named Marguerite, and ultimately becomes her lover, convincing her to turn her back on her...

Les Compagnons de Jehu (The Companions of Jehu) is set in the 1800s, during Napoleon's rise to power. The title refers to a secret organisation of young aristocrats-turned-highwaymen that continuously steals the money of the Directoire in order to finance the restoration of monarchy. It has all the typical Dumas ingredients, that is to say duels, political intrigues, noble heroes and a tragic love store that would make Shakespeare green with envy....

Set in 1866 during the Austro-Prussian War, this exciting and masterfully-retold story is highly recommended for fans of the historical fiction, and constitutes a must-read for lovers of Dumas's seminal work. Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) was a famous French writer. He is best remembered for his exciting romantic sagas, including "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo". Despite making a great deal of money from his writing, Dumas was...

On the 18th June, 1815, at the very moment when the destiny of Europe was being decided at Waterloo, a man dressed like a beggar was silently following the road from Toulon to Marseilles. Arrived at the entrance of the Gorge of Ollioulles, he halted on a little eminence from which he could see all the surrounding country; then either because he had reached the end of his journey, or because, before attempting that forbidding, sombre pass which is...

She was a woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six, who, unlike other women, evidently desired to appear older than she was. She was dressed in black; her hair hung in plaits; her neck, arms, and feet were bare; the belt at her waist was clasped by a large garnet which threw out sombre fires. In her hand she held a wand, and she was raised on a sort of platform which stood for the tripod of the ancients, and from which came acrid and penetrating fumes;...

In the night of the 15th of January 1343, while the inhabitants of Naples lay wrapped in peaceful slumber, they were suddenly awakened by the bells of the three hundred churches that this thrice blessed capital contains. In the midst of the disturbance caused by so rude a call the first thought in the mind of all was that the town was on fire, or that the army of some enemy had mysteriously landed under cover of night and could put the citizens to...

If our readers, tempted by the Italian proverb about seeing Naples and then dying, were to ask us what is the most favourable moment for visiting the enchanted city, we should advise them to land at the mole, or at Mergellina, on a fine summer day and at the hour when some solemn procession is moving out of the cathedral. Nothing can give an idea of the profound and simple-hearted emotion of this populace, which has enough poetry in its soul to believe...