24 July 1802: Alexandre Dumas is born

Alexandre Dumas was born in Villers-Cotterêts, France on 24 July 1802. His father, Thomas-Alexandre (the son of a French nobleman and an African slave), had a distinguished career as a soldier in the revolutionary army, rising through the ranks to become a General by the age of 31. He was the first person of colour to achieve this rank in a French army. In 1789 Thomas-Alexandre Dumas met Marie-Louise Elisabeth Labouret, they married in 1792 and their son Alexandre, was born on this day in 1802. Thomas-Alexandre died when young Alexandre was only 4, leaving Marie-Louise to raise him by herself. Although the family was poor and she was unable to provide her son with a good education, she told him many stories about his father’s brave exploits during the war. The boy had a strong love of books and read everything he could get his hands on.

Marie-Louise’s stories of his father’s military deeds spawned Alexandre’s vivid imagination for adventure and heroes, and he would eventually use these as the basis for the adventures in his novel The Three Musketeers. Although poor, the family still had the father’s distinguished reputation and aristocratic connections. Young Alexandre moved to Paris when he was 20, gaining employment at the Palais Royal in the office of the powerful Duke d’Orleans where he began writing magazine articles and plays for the theatre.

Alexandre’s plays were successful and he turned his efforts to novels writing stories and historical chronicles of high adventure that captured the imagination of the French public. His novels were so popular that they were soon translated into English and other languages. His writing earned him a great deal of money, but he also enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle, spending more than he earned, which frequently left him insolvent.

In 1840, Alexandre married actress, Ida Ferrier, but continued his numerous liaisons with other women, fathering at least three illegitimate children. One of those children, a son named after him, would follow in his footsteps, also becoming a successful novelist and playwright. Because of their same name and occupation, to distinguish them, his son is known as Alexandre Dumas, fils (French for son).

Alexandre Dumas’ works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the most widely read French authors. Many of his historical novels of high adventure were originally published as serials, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later. Incredibly prolific as a novelist, playwright, and even author of a cookbook. His novels have been adapted since the early twentieth century into nearly 200 films, and he remains one of the most translated of French authors.

Generous, hospitable, impulsive and humorous, Dumas was a larger-than-life personality. He coped bravely with the prejudices of the day regarding his mixed-race heritage. On 5 December 1870, he died at the age of 68 of natural causes.