Alexandre Dumas (père)

Vina Tirven-Gadum (Athabasca University)

Ed. by Tim Unwin, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: David Elwyn Evans (University of St Andrews), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

Born 24 Jul 1802
Died 5 Dec 1870
Activity 1829-1870

Places

Born in France
Active in France

Genres and Modes

Historical

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Dumas' Works

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Alexandre Dumas is one of the most prolific and popular French writers of all time. He was a first-class dramatist and historical novelist and the king of storytellers. He wrote over 1200 volumes in his lifetime, made up of 250 plays, novels, travelogues and memoirs; he was among the first writers in France to use the possibilities of the

roman feuilleton

(serialised novel). He is especially known for

Le Comte de Monte Cristo

Les Trois Mousquetaires

and

La Reine Margot

, novels that are filled with swordfights, beautiful women, heroic men, cloak-and-dagger episodes and narrow escapes. Yet, there is another dimension to his writings: no other French writer of the nineteenth century has depicted scenes of political intrigues, vengeance, perversion, graphic eroticism, poisonings, torture,…

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3099 words

Citation: Tirven-Gadum, Vina. "Alexandre Dumas (père)". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 September 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1345, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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