Who is dumas

He also began writing musical comedies and then historical plays in collaboration working together with others with a poet friend named Adolphe de Leuven. Historical subjects, as well as his ability to collaborate, were to be permanent elements of Dumas's work during his career. He read and attended the theater as much as he could during his time off. He was greatly influenced by the works of William Shakespeare — and wrote his first plays in and Others followed, with Henri III et sa cour bringing him great success and popularity.

The revolution of slowed down Dumas's writing, and he became a strong supporter of the Marquis de Lafayette. His political activities were viewed unfavorably by the new king, his former boss, and he was forced to leave France for a time. A series of amusing travel books resulted from this period of exile. When Dumas returned to Paris, he began writing a new series of historical plays.

By he had written alone, or in collaboration with others, more than twenty plays. He also began writing fiction at this time, first short stories and then novels. Dumas worked with many collaborators who helped him with the outlines of his romances. The scale of his "fiction factory" has often been exaggerated. Although at least a thousand works were published under his own name, most were due to his own hard work and amazing imagination. Dumas's works were received with enthusiasm by his loyal readers, and he earned a lot of money.

He could never earn enough to keep up with his spending habits, however. Among his problems was his estate of Monte-Cristo in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, which attracted many hangers-on and female admirers who Dumas ended up supporting. Marie-Antoinette has become quite the celebrity over the years, and many novels and biographies have been written about her.

These books are pretty hefty: the unabridged version consists of chapters! He was born in Haiti, and then his father brought him to France to raise him. He was also the first Black man to ever be promoted to general in a European army at the time.

Thomas-Alexandre was revered in France for his military achievements. Dumas was proud of his pops and all that he had done for France, and he showed his appreciation by writing him into many of his stories. He was also aware of how rare it was for a Black man to be so successful in the military. He often created characters that came from diverse backgrounds, just like his dad.

Because of his diverse heritage, Dumas was very aware of racism and the negative effects had on humanity. He was very vocal about his dislike of slavery, and he even wrote a book about racism called Georges. The plot of the novel could have been based on his own life: it tells the story of a man named Georges, who is the son of a biracial father. The novel also touches on the negative effects of colonialism and racial discrimination, something that was rarely written about in the 19th century.

This is probably my least favorite fact about Dumas, but it needs to be mentioned. Dumas was a famous womenizer, and he supposedly had up to 40 different mistresses over his lifetime. Thanks to the scholar Claude Schopp, his other mistresses were discovered along with 3 other unknown at the time children! Portrait of Alexandre Dumas, fils by unknown — WikiCommons.

Biographers know for sure that Dumas fathered at least 4 illegitimate children through his many liaisons. They are as follows:. Plus, the other 3 children that School discovered.

This is because his son, Alexandre Dumas, fils fils means son in English , was also a celebrated writer! His mother was a dressmaker named Marie-Laure-Catherine Labay. His father wanted the best of the best for his son, and ensured that he received the best education available at the time.

The great schooling worked, as Dumas, fils was a very successful author in his own right. He died on December 5, , in Puys, France. His works have been translated into more than languages and adapted for numerous films.

Thomas-Alexandre took the name Dumas when he enlisted in Napoleon's army, where he acquired the dubious nickname "Black Devil. Dumas' father, Thomas-Alexandre, rose to the rank of general at the age of 31, the highest rank of any Black man in a European army.

In , he distinguished himself at the battle of Adige when he surprised and defeated an Austrian battery. Thomas-Alexandre left the armed forces following a disagreement with Napoleon over his Egypt campaign. He was imprisoned for nearly two years and died shortly after his release.

After her husband's death, Marie Louise Labouret worked hard to provide an education for her son. In , Dumas moved to Paris and immersed himself in literature. He began writing plays, both comedies and dramas. Dumas's Romantic style — often compared to that of his contemporary and rival, Victor Hugo — proved to be exceptionally popular. Dumas was a prolific writer of essays, short stories and novels, as well as plays and travelogues. His interests also encompassed crime and scandals and wrote eight volumes of essays on infamous cases in history such as that of Lucrezia Borgia and Cesare Borgia, and names more contemporary to his time, like Karl Ludwig Sand.