Alexandre Dumas

Alexandre Dumas was a French writer and dramatist, born on 24 July 1802 in Villers-Cotterêts, and he died on 5 December 1870. He first made his name in the theatre, but he became world famous through fast-moving historical novels, many of them published in newspaper instalments. He often worked with collaborators, a habit that helped him produce an enormous output of novels, plays and travel writing.

His best-known books, such as The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, combine real history with duels, intrigue, friendship and revenge. They remain among the most widely read and adapted adventure stories in any language. Dumas's grandmother was a Black woman from Saint-Domingue, and his father became a general in the French army; this family story shaped his imagination and his sense of injustice. His storytelling energy still defines the popular historical novel.