The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo

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The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo

4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 · rating details · 1,331 ratings · 382 reviews

Here is the remarkable true story of the real Count of Monte Cristo – a stunning feat of historical sleuthing that brings to life the forgotten hero who inspired such classics asThe Count of Monte CristoandThe Three Musketeers.

The real-life protagonist ofThe Black Count, General Alex Dumas, is a man almost unknown today yet with a story that is strikingly familiar, because...more

Hardcover, 414 pages

Published September 18th 2012 by Crown

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Nov 30, 2012 Bettie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-book, autumn-2012, biography, nonfiction, published-2012, history, napoleonic, slaves, adventure, families

BOTW

A re-read so soon, I hear you ask. BBC has it as book of the week and it will be lovely to hear it recapped.

BBC Blurb - In his new biography Tom Reiss reveals that Alexandre Dumas' father led a life of derring-do that is captured in his son's novels, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. Born to a French nobleman, and a black slave in the colonies, the writer's father went on to rise rapidly through the ranks to become a general in the French army. General Alex Dumas' acts of...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Aubrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-star, reviewed, non-fiction, reason-for-history-class, first-reads, pulitzer

4.5/5
Fascinating person, exciting time period, amazingly well researched writing. The prose could use some work, but hey, this is the uncorrected proof. Taking that into account, the work done so far is simply extraordinary.
I will admit it, I had no idea that the famous author Alexandre Dumas' father was so. Well. Larger than life, really. And the time period that he lived in that enabled him to reach such heights was almost as unbelievable. Before reading this, the extent of my knowledge regard...more 4.5/5
Fascinating person, exciting time period, amazingly well researched writing. The prose could use some work, but hey, this is the uncorrected proof. Taking that into account, the work done so far is simply extraordinary.
I will admit it, I had no idea that the famous author Alexandre Dumas' father was so. Well. Larger than life, really. And the time period that he lived in that enabled him to reach such heights was almost as unbelievable. Before reading this, the extent of my knowledge regarding the French Revolution could be nearly encompassed by books like Les Misérables, A Tale of Two Cities, The Eight: A Novel, and other historical fiction that loved to mention the guillotine. Not exactly comprehensive, as none of these books touch on the hugely successful and extremely paradoxical civil rights movement that accompanied this tumultuous time.
In fact, most of the other books focused on illustrating the rampant bloodthirst running through France, but this book was especially successful at drawing connections between the politically motivated guillotine and Stalin's USSR. It was disconcerting seeing how both historical periods had a penchant for conspiracy and execution; however, it must be said that France managed to maintain some measure of humanity due to its acceptance of mixed races on all levels of society. Without this, Alex Dumas, the 'Black Count', would be as fictional as his son's protagonist, Edmond Dantès.
It's simply a travesty that no one has heard of this man. From the sounds of it, he very well single-handedly kept the Revolution going, while managing to not succumb to its political machinations. Throughout the book, General Dumas goes through life conquering armies despite overwhelming odds, yet he never loses his humanity when dealing with captured villages and other non-fighting entities. Many times he was willing to place the blame on those under his own command, as his goals were freedom and fair play for all, not just victory for his side. You don't get people like that nowadays.
Also, major kudos to the author. If he had dictated Alex Dumas' life, the book would've been half as long, if that. Instead, he chose to lay out all the historical background necessary before setting Alex up, so when the main character does something, the reader knows exactly why and how this relates to the bigger picture. I'm a big fan of this, not only because it's so much easier to know what's going on, it also offers many amazing snapshots full of juicy historical tidbits. For example, I now know what led up to the creation of Haiti, as well as the fact that Napoleon was a major twat. Not to mention how the US really got over the whole colonies business. Liberty or death is one thing, but if you forget to mention the fact that the whole of Europe, especially France, basically fought Britain for you, it's a bit cheap.
So. Read this. You learn so much, whether your interest is the man or the history. Either way, it's definitely a story to be remembered, especially since it actually happened. That always makes things cooler.

PS: Before I forget, I got this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.(less)

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Sep 24, 2012 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: Suzanne

Shelves: 2012-around-the-world, biography, history, non-fiction

I'm sure a lot of people are going to think the same thing reading this biography: "How in the world did I not know about this man?" Everyone knows Alexandre Dumas, père--or at least knows his The Three Musketeers. I haven't read his books, but I've watched several adaptations and homages to them, everything from toons to allusions on Star Trek. I knew that this 19th century author was both French and black--yet nevertheless celebrated even in his lifetime. I knew of his son, who wrote the play...more I'm sure a lot of people are going to think the same thing reading this biography: "How in the world did I not know about this man?" Everyone knows Alexandre Dumas, père--or at least knows his The Three Musketeers. I haven't read his books, but I've watched several adaptations and homages to them, everything from toons to allusions on Star Trek. I knew that this 19th century author was both French and black--yet nevertheless celebrated even in his lifetime. I knew of his son, who wrote the play that was the basis for Camille and Verdi's La Traviata. But I didn't know about his father Alex Dumas. General Alex Dumas. Son of a marquis and a slave, born in Haiti, who his own father pawned into slavery, then redeemed and brought to Paris. He enlisted as a common soldier and when the French Revolution briefly swept away race as a bar, he rose to the rank of what would be considered today a four star general--commanding at one point over 50,000 troops--and was a genuine hero.

That's not all to his story either. So many of the events in this biography sound like out and out adventure fiction. Yet Reiss obviously researched this meticulously--he doesn't just go by his son's memoir, but sought out confirmations and contradictions and complications in the story. There are plenty of quotes from letters of General Dumas that bring his personality to life. The book also deals with the backdrop of his life: the sugar plantations of Haiti and the creole culture, Paris of the ancien regime and the French Revolution and rise of Napoleon.

I'd been reading biographies and other books dealing with the American Revolution lately, and it struck me in those books how deeply the American and French revolutions were intertwined, so it was interesting seeing it from the other side. (The French helped us win our revolution, and it bankrupted them helping touch off their own; The Marquis de Lafayette fought in both; Thomas Jefferson, who wrote our Declaration of Independence, helped draft their Declaration of the Rights of Man.) Whenever I'd read of the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror, the dysfunction of its government and its totalitarian aspects were what was emphasized. Reiss highlights by the nature of this biography what was hopeful and inspiring in it. Reiss claims the revolutionary government was the "first in history to abolish slavery." (I'd dispute that; I've read of examples in antiquity--notably Cyrus of Persia and Ashoka of India banned slavery in their dominions.) Blacks not only rose high in the military of revolutionary France, they were part of the legislature and in that period made strides socially and politically: until Napoleon. The glimpses we get of him here are not pretty. Reiss refers to Napoleon's "maddeningly contradictory legacy" as both "dictator" and "liberator"--his reign marked the resumption of racial discrimination and even slavery--what then was done to Dumas' native Haiti was a tragedy.

So both as the biography of a neglected historical figure and a window into his times this succeeds wonderfully. A great read.(less)

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May 17, 2013 Susanna marked it as back-at-library

Shelves: 19th-century, biography, baroque, france, history

What rogues Alexandre Dumas' grandfather and great-uncles were!

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Jan 25, 2013 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Laura by: Bettie

Shelves: e-books, kindle, history, memoir-biography, non-fiction, mtbr-challenge-2013, french-revolution, read-2013, pulitzer-price

Location 1139:
“Man is born free but is everywhere in chains,” wrote Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Social Contract in 1762.

Location 1160:
Slavery was one thing for the empire, however, and another thing entirely within France itself.

Location 1236:
Everything is free in a Kingdom where liberty is seated at the foot of the throne, where the least subject finds in the heart of his king the feelings of a father.… No one is [a] slave in France.”

Location 1240:
The problem was not slaves in France. The prob...more

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Oct 12, 2012 'Aussie Rick' rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: napoleonic

This new book on the life of General Alexandre Dumas; father of the French author; Alexandre Dumas, père (The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers), offers the reader an enjoyable account of this famous but apparently forgotten hero.

In The Black Count we get a good look at the life and career of a French Revolutionary soldier and officer, and later Napoleonic General, who served in Italy during the Revolutionary Wars and later in Egypt under Napoleon.

However this is not just a military...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Nick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history

Not only a great story about an incredible yet almost forgotten historical figure, but also a great exploration of how within one generation blacks in the French empire went from slaves, to revolutionary equals, to a marginalized and horribly mistreated minority.

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Dec 05, 2012 Carl rated it 4 of 5 stars

It’s hard to write, or read, capital H History without a certain amount of boring recitation of facts, etc. The background is essential, and it’s hard to make all of it entertaining, especially as different readers have different levels of background knowledge. So there’s a little of that element here.
There’s also a fascinating story, partially based on newly discovered (by the author) documents, about Citizen General Alex Dumas, pere of novelist Alexandre Dumas (aka Dumas pere), who clearly in...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Claire McAlpine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, france

A fascinating account of the life of General Alex Dumas, plucked from slavery (having been pawned by his own father (a French Marquis) in Saint Domingue [Haiti]) to be given a privileged education in Paris, becoming a revered General, part of the Revolution, a humanist, only to lose favour with Bonaparte who failed to rescue the General from imprisonment following a shipwreck in Italian waters and who damaged his prospects further by unravelling much of the progress that had been made for men of...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Jamil rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, vive-le-france, revolution, paris, fathers, action, adventure, secret-histories

f-ck Napoleon.

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Feb 09, 2013 Tomw rated it 5 of 5 stars

So, reader, you thought Alexandre Dumas made up all those novels? This one suggests he combined his awesome writing talents with stories from his charismatic family's past adventures. Fight three duels in one day (like in "The Three Musketeers")? Tom Reiss has given us some strings attached to the great novel "The Count of Monte Cristo." The strings are attached to Dumas' father, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a gallant fighter during the Napoleonic wars. This clever, and thoroughly researched...more

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May 05, 2013 Eastbelt rated it 4 of 5 stars

This biography works well on several levels. Above all, it's an interesting account of the life of the father of the great French novelist Alexandre Dumas, who shared his father's name. As the author shows in detail, the elder Dumas is an almost unbelievable figure, straight out of fiction: the son of a black slave and a white woman, he's tall, immensely strong, fearless, intelligent, a brilliant warrior, and a hero of the French revolution. He's also indiscreet, impetuous and apt to make enemie...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Elaine rated it 3 of 5 stars

FACTS FROM THIS BOOK:
Until mid 1400's nearly all slavery was not based on any sense of "race". Slaves imported into Europe were ethnic Slavs---Slave markets were found from Dublin to Marseille, where the people being bought and sold were as fair skinned as those buying and selling them. The word slave derives from this background. The rise of Islam led to a vast expansion of slavery as conquering Arab armies put any non-believer into bondage.

Alexander Dumas's father, Alex was a great soldier du...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's the biography of novelist Alexander Dumas' father set against the French Revolution and the rise to power of Bonaparte. Alex Dumas was born a slave, son of a Frenchman who had fled into the wilds of Saint Domingue after a conflict with his well-to-do sugar planter brother, and a black slave who was his father's mistress for many years. The back story of Alexander Dumas' grandfather, Davy de la Pailleterie, is interesting in its own right and takes up a justifiably large portion of the book....more

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Feb 23, 2013 Socraticgadfly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, military-history, history

Fascinating bio of whom the book says ... the man who spent part of his life, early on, near Monte Cristo ... in today's Haiti!

And, the man who was indeed the inspiration for Alexandre Dumas' famous protagonist because ... he was Dumas' father!

Alex Dumas, son of an impoverished French scion who joined his younger brother in Haiti and eventually ran off with the slave woman who became Alex' mother, rose to the rank of general in the army of revolutionary France, only to be shunted aside when a re...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Vincent rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

In a nutshell, this book shows all that was good and bad about the French Revolution. The illegitimate son of a French count rises tobecome a decorated general of the Republic - oh, and by the way, he was also a dark mulato. Add to this story that he is the father of one of the great novelists of the worldand you have a heck of a story.

Tom Reis does a good job telling the tale, but more than that he does manage to weave the stories and plots of Dumas' novels showing how the younger Dumas drew in...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Ron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Words fail to describe the utter brilliance of this book. Here is a review that appeared in the Literary Review:" Did Napoleon, morally contemptible as he was, effectively kill the general? Dumas's son, a yet more famous Alexandre, certainly believed so and Reiss presents a plausible case for Edmond Dantès, Monte Cristo's wronged hero, as an avatar of the lost father, some of whose prodigious strength and generosity of spirit the novelist inherited. Clearly Dumas cherished memories of the relati...more Words fail to describe the utter brilliance of this book. Here is a review that appeared in the Literary Review:" Did Napoleon, morally contemptible as he was, effectively kill the general? Dumas's son, a yet more famous Alexandre, certainly believed so and Reiss presents a plausible case for Edmond Dantès, Monte Cristo's wronged hero, as an avatar of the lost father, some of whose prodigious strength and generosity of spirit the novelist inherited. Clearly Dumas cherished memories of the relatively brief time they spent together - a mere four years, cruelly ended by his father's death - but the devotion went far deeper than orthodox filial piety. 'If this child has no accidents,' wrote the general to a friend, two days after the boy's birth on 24 July 1802, 'he will not be a pygmy by the age of twenty-five'. The pair became inseparable companions, little Alexandre struggling to lift his father's sabre, listening spellbound to his tales of alligators in Haitian swamps or watching him, as he rescued a servant from drowning, 'smile an almost unearthly smile, as a man may who has accomplished a godlike act'.

The novel thus becomes a conscious act of retribution for ancient wrongdoing and is all the better for being fuelled with this kind of noble animus. The Black Count has its own moving narrative thread, made compelling by Reiss's impassioned absorption with the general's fate. He has walked the same ground, from Haiti to the Pyramids, he has penetrated the fateful prison cell at Taranto, and he has even blown open a safe at Villers-Cotterêts to get at the Dumas papers. 'I forbid you ever to speak to me of that man!' cried Napoleon to one of his officers, foolhardy enough to plead on the poor general's behalf. Thank goodness Tom Reiss has snapped his fingers in the face of the Corsican ogre."

The Christian Science Monitor: "The context of Dumas’ phenomenal career path is painted in rich detail. Despite being financially dependent on an extensive West Indian slave empire (Haiti was the richest colony in the world during the second half of the 18th century), France took the lead in proclaiming human rights, well ahead of Great Britain and the United States. Slavery throughout the empire was abolished in 1794, and people of color in France enjoyed full rights of citizenship, at least for a time.

Napoleon’s rise to power would reverse this truly revolutionary trend, and Dumas would be swept up in the avalanche of racial backsliding. The Black Count’s commanding presence alone, never mind his accomplishments, were a living rebuke to the prevailing racial theories of that and later times. Seeing the tall and confident Dumas standing next to the diminutive Napoleon, Egyptians assumed the former was the leader of the French forces. This didn’t bode well for the subordinate’s career. When his next son was born, Dumas looked elsewhere for godparents.(less)

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Jan 02, 2013 Alex Erickson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tom Reiss' biography of Alex Dumas, father of famed French literary icon Alexandre Dumas, is well worth the read. Born in the sugar colony of Saint Domingue (present day Haiti) to a ne'er do well French nobleman and slave mother, Dumas would eventually rise from the Private to General in the French Revolutionary Army. His bravery on the battlefield was matched only by his moral courage -- his commitment to the ideals of egalitarianism and republicanism so espoused by the French Revolution. Ultim...more Tom Reiss' biography of Alex Dumas, father of famed French literary icon Alexandre Dumas, is well worth the read. Born in the sugar colony of Saint Domingue (present day Haiti) to a ne'er do well French nobleman and slave mother, Dumas would eventually rise from the Private to General in the French Revolutionary Army. His bravery on the battlefield was matched only by his moral courage -- his commitment to the ideals of egalitarianism and republicanism so espoused by the French Revolution. Ultimately, the ideals of the Revolution would fail women and men of color like Dumas in tragic fashion. His name almost erased from the history books save for the efforts of his son and his family impoverished after his imprisonment and early death, Dumas' life is a powerful story of the times he lived and instructive in our ever-changing attitudes on race, class and war. After a long battle, Dumas supporters were able to erect a statue of the General (alongside the more well-known author son and playwright grandson) to stand in Paris in 1912. The Nazis would destroy it in the winter of 1941-1942. Despite efforts to erect a new statue honoring the life of General Dumas, no such statue exists today. Dumas advocates lobbied former French President Sarkozy to post-humously award the General the Legion of Honour, France's highest military decoration and one that Napoleon curiously never bestowed upon Dumas. These efforts have proved unsuccessful.

Four out of five stars as the middle of the book seemed to drag on a bit for me with the very in-depth history lesson on Saint-Domingue and Revolutionary France. Very good, but Reiss excels when he is telling us the moving and layered story of General Dumas, including the good-natured French bureaucracy he must navigate to slowly piece together the obfuscated history of the General. Reiss seems a little bored when he is simply rehashing the history of the French colonies or Revolutionary France, and so was I, albeit briefly.

Well worth the read, and certainly more enlightening than reading a historical biography about somebody who has already had hundreds of biographies written about their person.(less)

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Dec 18, 2012 Kathleen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, history, non-fiction, read-in-2012

This book is terrific! It makes boring history (The French Revolution? I'm pretty sure I slept through that in two different classes) awesome. By following the life of Alexandre Dumas, the father of Alexandre Dumas, and promising that this was the man who inspired some of that author's greatest literature, the book feels more relevant. Add to that the fact that this Dumas' life did not begin in France, but rather as the son of a slave in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) and one quickly realizes that this...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Margaret Sankey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Alexander Dumas' longing for and admiration of the father he lost when he was four comes off of every page of his works--the Count of Monte Cristo, the Three Musketeers, Georges. As an adult, he attempted to write a biography of his father, interviewing his mother and his father's military and political peers, but never published it. Now, reconstructing that biography with triangulation from other primary documents and French Revolutionary records, Reiss (whose previous biography dealt with the...more

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Dec 07, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This tale about the swashbuckling general, General Alexandre Dumas (the novelist's father), reads like a novel and never fails to be exciting. The mulatto general, the son of an aristocrat and his black wife, was lucky enough to receive an excellent education and rose to the top of his career in the army quickly.

This book relates his exploits as he led the Army of the Alps, sparred with Napoleon, and attempted to uphold the true principles of the French Revolution. Sometimes it's a little bit to...more

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Dec 05, 2012 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Richard by: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/books/review/the-black-count-by-tom-reiss.html

Shelves: adventure, history, non-fiction

The Black Count is an incredible history book.

Its subject is someone whose mere existence is fundamentally fascinating, and with engaging breadth and depth.

The précis can be grasped from the blurb, so I won’t bore you with that.

This staggeringly interesting yet hitherto under-appreciated man is obviously the nominal focus of the story, but that focus drifts quite widely. The racial politics of the era and of revolutionary France is a central theme, but the major villain, Napoleon, really only sh...more The Black Count is an incredible history book.

Its subject is someone whose mere existence is fundamentally fascinating, and with engaging breadth and depth.

The précis can be grasped from the blurb, so I won’t bore you with that.

This staggeringly interesting yet hitherto under-appreciated man is obviously the nominal focus of the story, but that focus drifts quite widely. The racial politics of the era and of revolutionary France is a central theme, but the major villain, Napoleon, really only shows up in the second half of the story and quite often takes center stage. When appropriate, interesting lessons on international political economy are handed out — do you have any idea how important sugar was at the time?

The author also uses juicy digressions to spice things up. At one point Napoleon is under examination, and we get the background on his reasons for his Egyptian campaign, which then ties to a short story about an Indian sultan, which then gets a footnote about how that sultan aggressively used primitive rockets against the British, who then stole his techniques in time to use them in the War of 1812 with the young U.S.A., where they used them and left us with the line about “rockets red glare” in our Star-Spangled Banner. A few pages later, we get a fun little digression on the Maltese Falcon. Other footnotes deal with the history of the enema and the Mameluke sword.

If you don’t like this sort of thing, the author shows good discipline: once the digression isn’t related significantly to the story, it is relegated to a footnote. Personally, as long as the factoids are interesting, I love this kinda stuff. But they are certainly signs of how deeply the author dove into the subject matter, and how much passion he has for what he learned.

If you need more persuasion to read this wonderful history, check out the New York Times review, The Third Musketeer , or one at the GuardianUK, The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss , or the effusively titled The Daddy of All Action Heroes at the Daily Mail.

Read it.
(less)

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Dec 05, 2012 Everyday eBook rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Everyday by: Dr. Edward J. McNamara

Long before the masked crusader donned his cape, before there was a visitor from a planet called Krypton, or before Captain America found his shield, there was The Black Count -- a real superhero if there ever was one. The biography of Alexandre Dumas is an amazing portrayal of a true action hero of the eighteenth century. In The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, Tom Reiss tells the fascinating and incredible story of General Alex Dumas, the father of f...more Long before the masked crusader donned his cape, before there was a visitor from a planet called Krypton, or before Captain America found his shield, there was The Black Count -- a real superhero if there ever was one. The biography of Alexandre Dumas is an amazing portrayal of a true action hero of the eighteenth century. In The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, Tom Reiss tells the fascinating and incredible story of General Alex Dumas, the father of famed author Alexandre Dumas.

Alexandre Antoine Davy, the Marquis de La Pailleterie, a fun-loving French nobleman who lived off his brother in what is now Haiti, had a son with a black slave named Marie Cessette Dumas. Their son, Alexandre, ultimately became the fabled Alex Dumas, a count and general in the French Army during the French Revolution. Brought to France by his father as a slave, Alexandre was freed under French law and received a classical education. Young Alexandre (Alex) grew to be an imposing physical presence at six-foot-one in a world of men at least a half-foot shorter. His legendary courage, strength, and agility were matched by phenomenal prowess with his sword, guns, and horsemanship. He was referred to as "the black devil" by his enemies because he literally scared the hell out of them. While he was "feared by his enemy, he was loved by his men" -- he was a "soldier's general."

Alex's rise paralleled some incredibly exciting times in France. The French Revolution had just started when he entered the military and it was because of events immediately before and during the early revolution that as a black man he was able to advance in the army -- "liberty, equality (especially), and fraternity." This general believed in leading from the front. He literally charged into battle and his men followed even when badly outnumbered. In one notable battle, General Dumas climbed the ice-covered Alps on metal cleats in front of his men to take out an enemy outpost protecting an important pass. He took prisoners, many prisoners. He was a fantastic fighter for his ideals, his country, and his comrades.

There was another side to him that earned the General the nickname, "Mr. Humanity." Alex Dumas would not permit the victors to torment the conquered. He believed in the rights and dignity of people even in war. Treading carefully, Alex dealt with and survived a bloodier and bloodier French government. The complexity of the French Revolution -- a revolution that inevitably leads our Alex to serve under Napoleon, who barely saw beyond General Dumas's chest both literally and figuratively -- is wonderfully described and attended to through the context of this man's life.

Serving Napoleon led Alex on an ill-fated adventure into Egypt. Abandoned there, General Dumas had to try to find his way home and instead ended up a prisoner in an Italian dungeon for years. Finally, at home with his wife and children, the weary but valiant General was forgotten and ignored by the government for whom he had risked his life. The rights and fortunes of blacks were lost under Napoleon, a step backward for the ideals of the Revolution. Fortunately, his son ultimately helped pick up the cause in literature, just as Tom Reiss has through his research and excellent storytelling about this real-life superhero. A remarkable true story, packed with adventure.

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Nov 30, 2012 Vicki rated it 4 of 5 stars

An incredibly well-researched and documented account, this book reveals the true story of the man who inspired the author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. It is his own father, Alex Dumas, who was born in St. Domingue (currently known as Haiti) to a member of the French aristocracy and a black slave. The young boy and his father eventually make it back to France. The father, still no better at making or retaining money, still manages to hold onto his title and his family's...more An incredibly well-researched and documented account, this book reveals the true story of the man who inspired the author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. It is his own father, Alex Dumas, who was born in St. Domingue (currently known as Haiti) to a member of the French aristocracy and a black slave. The young boy and his father eventually make it back to France. The father, still no better at making or retaining money, still manages to hold onto his title and his family's estate,sending his son to private schools and having him trained in swordsmanship and equestrian skills.

But this is the time of the upheaval that precedes the French Revolution. Alex Dumas enlists in the French military force. His horsemanship and sword wielding skills are apparently the stuff of legend and his rise through the ranks is quick. Dumas does not take long to be named a general and his military skills and bravery become widely known.

There is a growing population in France at this time of black and mixed race, or mulatto, people. Opinions run strong, but the slogan of freedom, equality and fraternity prevails. Mixed race children of slaves and white plantation owners are eligible to be educated in France and some even hold positions in government.

Times are incredibly rough and bloody during the onset of the revolution and even more so if possible, when the "citizens" begin to run the government. Though equality is preached, the reality is that selfish interests of the most powerful "equals" prevail. Life is cheap, salaries for the military is uncertain and erratic, but still, Dumas feels great patriotism to the country of France and the noble values espoused during the revolution.

Sadly, though his patriotism never lags, his country ignores his plight when he is taken prisoner by the Neopolitans, (a district that eventually unites with other districts to become modern Italy). His downfall is a lapse in judgement when he treats his fellow general, Napoleon Bonaparte, as an equal, not foreseeing that Bonaparte's plan is to engineer a coup which leads to him becoming Emperor of France. This eventuality is quickly followed by rescinding the laws that had made the black and mulattoes full citizens with full recourse under the law.

The life of Alex Dumas is as inspiring as the lives of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, but his country, unfortunately, has all but purged him from it's historical memory.

Definitely worth the read, and as I mentioned earlier, researched and documented well past the shadow of a doubt. Check it out!(less)

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Nov 27, 2012 Louise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, france-bio-hist, military-hist-policy

I was attracted to this book by the author whose work "The Orientalist" was outstanding. Not only was the writing good, Tom Reiss showed that he had an eye for content. His subject, Kuban Said, had a fascinating and neglected story. I never read Dumas and never knew of his father, but I trusted Reiss would have something interesting in store... and he did!

The saga of Dumas (nee Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie) is a not only that of his extraordinary life, but also is the story of race in...more I was attracted to this book by the author whose work "The Orientalist" was outstanding. Not only was the writing good, Tom Reiss showed that he had an eye for content. His subject, Kuban Said, had a fascinating and neglected story. I never read Dumas and never knew of his father, but I trusted Reiss would have something interesting in store... and he did!

The saga of Dumas (nee Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie) is a not only that of his extraordinary life, but also is the story of race in France. The Revolutionary government first deemed all men equal and later abolished slavery wherever the French flag flew. Reiss shows how in the colonies, enforcement of the new constitution was spotty and slavery persisted, but in continental France, Blacks had opportunities that never before existed. It was the Republic and its ideals of liberty and equality for all men that inspired Dumas.

He was born of a slave and a French noble father (a prodigal son of dubious ethics) in Saint-Dominigue. Reiss follows his life, his being sold by his father, (later bought back and brought to France) through his distinguished military career, winning battles/territory for his country and rising to be the highest ranking person of color in an army in the western world. I read in Wikipedia that he, alone, held this rank until he shared it with Colin Powell upon his promotion in 1989. Because Dumas's military career was tied up with that of Napoleon when Napoleon betrayed the ideals of the Revolution, he necessarily betrayed the better man, Dumas.

One of the (many) highlights is the Egyptian campaign. Reiss gives an even handed account showing the successes of this expedition along with its catastrophic failure. Napoleon is indifferent to the suffering of the soldiers and Dumas is one of the many he leaves in the lurch, which begins a path of great suffering for him. As a prelude to this campaign, Reiss's short piece on Malta provides the clearest and most meaningful history of that island nation that I've encountered.

The book has great maps, but it lacks photos or plates. The only rendering of Dumas is on the cover. There is plenty a reader would like to see from the opening of the safe in Villers-Cotterets, where the saga begins to the tri-generational "Forgotten Statue" where the book ends.

In "The Orientalist" Reiss takes the reader into his research in much the same way he begins this narrative with the account of opening the safe at Villers-Cotterets. Only a bit of this style of writing surfaces, usually when Reiss speaks of inspecting documents or something of their condition. There is little in commentary from the many who guide him through his exploration of sites and documents which I liked so well in the earlier book. I wondered if the academics and others who are credited in the acknowledgments had a role in editing out some of this personalization. (less)

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Nov 27, 2012 Yune rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction-biography

I went into this thinking that it was about the Alexandre Dumas who brought us the Count of Monte Cristo mentioned in the subtitle. But nope! It's about his father, also called Alex Dumas. (And to add even more room for confusion, the author also has a son of the same name.) This was not a disappointment.

Touted are his military accomplishments: "Alex Dumas first came to the army's attention when, still a lowly corporal, he single-handedly captured twelve enemy soldiers and marched them back to h...more I went into this thinking that it was about the Alexandre Dumas who brought us the Count of Monte Cristo mentioned in the subtitle. But nope! It's about his father, also called Alex Dumas. (And to add even more room for confusion, the author also has a son of the same name.) This was not a disappointment.

Touted are his military accomplishments: "Alex Dumas first came to the army's attention when, still a lowly corporal, he single-handedly captured twelve enemy soldiers and marched them back to his camp. Not long afterward, he led four horsemen in an attack on an enemy post manned by over fifty men--Dumas alone killed six and took sixteen prisoner." And that's the least of it.

Surely such feats are worth of adventure novels, let alone biographies! But what really snared my interest was that Alex Dumas was the son of a French aristocrat and a slave woman, and because the French Revolution swept in an esprit of racial equality, he had the opportunity to have his merits recognized. He received a gentleman's education and became known not only for his martial prowess, which helped catapult him up the military ranks, but also an administrative savvy and a noble attitude toward people in subjugated areas. He fought to ensure his men were well-equipped, but restrained the forced seizure of goods, or at least tried to compensate locals fairly. He was sort of unbelievably awesome. (And, of course, handsome to boot.)

I was actually somewhat overwhelmed by the wealth of detail about the revolution. It's necessary to explain the circumstances that enabled Dumas's accomplishments, but amidst all the atmosphere-setting, his engagement to an innkeeper's daughter is given only a few short, unsentimental paragraphs. (This is somewhat made up later by the quoting of some tender letters between the two.)

Things got really interesting once Napoleon started making an appearance and ended up wielding authority over Dumas. Only a blind fool wouldn't have recognized Dumas's value in the army, but apparently there were some personality clashes, to the point where author-son Dumas -- who was four when his father died, yet apparently retained fiercely loving memories -- painted Napoleon as the archvillain in this tale (although apparently they had promised to become the godfather of the other's son at some point).

A moment to remark on the narrative voice; there's a lot from author-Dumas's perspective, and many letters in general-Dumas's own hand are quoted -- both great (and, I'd argue, necessary) aspects for such a biography. But new to me was Reiss's casual authorial interjections in first person ("I had always like these scene"), where he related his own opinions or inserted an anecdote about his research. In fact, there are two prologues. The first is set in historic times, while the second describes Reiss's quest to uncover papers locked in the safe of a Dumas museum whose curator had passed away. (The telling would not be out of place in a heist TV show episode.) I didn't mind such open commentary, but it did seem to serve in place of trying to draw a more personal connection with Dumas as a relatable human.

Dumas's good fortune began to wane with Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, and was pretty much extinguished when his returning ship ran aground and he was taken prisoner in Naples. (Why, yes, you may recognize certain story elements.) Given the state of medicine at this time, the conspiracy that dogged Dumas and wreaked havoc on his health during his imprisonment was painful to read.

I think Dumas is a figure well worth reading about: you get discussions of racism and slavery! equality! military maneuvers! Napoleonic jealousies! noble wastrels! -- all circling about one man's life. Sometimes the context got a little crammed in there, and occasionally the pacing suffered for it; and author-Dumas's filial adoration shines through so brightly that it's hard to see Dumas as a person rather than a hero. But what a hero.(less)

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Nov 07, 2012 Jud Barry rated it 4 of 5 stars

As an occasional student of French history--particularly of the revolutionary and Napoleonic periods--I was vaguely aware that Alexandre Dumas, who gave us the three musketeers and the Count of Monte Cristo, was of mixed race parentage, and also that his father was a general in the revolutionary army. But that's as far as it went.

"The Black Count" has plugged the gaps in my knowledge by telling an amazing story in an admirable way. Alex Dumas the elder was born in Haiti (then St. Domingue) to a...more As an occasional student of French history--particularly of the revolutionary and Napoleonic periods--I was vaguely aware that Alexandre Dumas, who gave us the three musketeers and the Count of Monte Cristo, was of mixed race parentage, and also that his father was a general in the revolutionary army. But that's as far as it went.

"The Black Count" has plugged the gaps in my knowledge by telling an amazing story in an admirable way. Alex Dumas the elder was born in Haiti (then St. Domingue) to a slave mother and a father who was a Norman marquis--and something of a ne'er-do-well in planter society, since he disappeared into the bush with a group of slaves, only to turn up in France years later to claim his inheritance, along with a young son who was also--unlike most sons of French marquis--black.

Young Alex was then educated as a count, which meant the acquisition of a classical education and martial skills such as fencing and horseback riding. In 1786, at the age of 24, Alex enlisted in a dragoon regiment as a private; supposedly his father required him to assume a "nom de guerre" so as not to "drag my name through the lowest ranks of the army." The name Alex chose was his mother's--Dumas.

In 1789 the French Revolution entered the scene and the ensuing change was fast, and it was furious. The leaders of the revolution adopted an aggressive military strategy to pump up patriotism and buy it some buffers along the border. They also adopted a questionable management tactic for their generals--guillotining the ones not deemed aggressive or successful enough. The resulting turnover, together with Dumas's success as an enterprising and daring trooper, propelled Alex Dumas up in the ranks: he became a brigadier general in 1792.

An important part of this book is the discussion of the status of blacks in French society at the time, and how it was drastically improved--at least politically--by revolutionary ideology. Socially, too, race was no impediment when Dumas (at the time still just an enlisted man, albeit one with a pedigree) married the daughter of the mayor of Villers Cotterets, small town northeast of Paris. But imperial ambitions fueled by planter greed eventually produced a severe lapse back into a race-conscious, pro-slavery mentality during Napoleon's regime.

Napoleon, too, is largely responsible for ruining Dumas's career. Dumas seemed to be too loyal to "republican" ideals, and too much his own man, ever to be the kind of yes-man that Napoleon required. The ill-fated Egyptian Expedition brought everything crashing down. Dumas (along with the whole French army) was abandoned when Napoleon, fleeing failure, sneaked back to France. Dumas sickened, attempted to return to France, but was captured and imprisoned in Italy in conditions that inspired "The Count of Monte Cristo." When finally freed, he lived long enough to return to his family and have a young Alex of his own, with whom he lived only four years before dying of stomach cancer.

Much of Reiss's information comes from the younger Dumas's writings, among them his memoirs, for which he used as sources his mother and his father's comrades-in-arms. As memories of glory days, some of these must certainly be taken with a grain of salt. However, Reiss also relates an adventure of his own that involves the opening of a locked chest of relevant primary documents in the town hall of Villers Cotterets. Treasure chest indeed!

Alex Dumas the general is well overdue for an epic blockbuster motion picture. The story has an unbeatable combination of winning themes: the island child born to a slave mother and aristocrat father; the racial outlier in Parisian society excelling in the martial skills that bring him the same kind of notoriety that an outstanding athlete has in our day; the courageous cavalryman; the smart and daring general concerned to treat foreign nonbelligerents with respect; the good citizen devoted to the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity; the devoted husband and doting father; and the long-suffering but determined prisoner of war. Maybe it'd be a good Kickstarter project. A couple hundred million should do the trick.(less)

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Nov 01, 2012 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars

A truly fascinating biography! For those who enjoy the novel "The Count of Monte Cristo", have a look at the brilliant new sequels written by the mysterious "Holy Ghost Writer". They are written in the same style as Alexandre Dumas' original, and are equally as gripping. Titled "The Sultan of Monte Cristo" (Book II) and "That Girl Started Her Own Country" (Book III). Price is $1.99 and $7.77 respectively, for the Kindle Editions. Both are riveting books from beginning to end, and worthy successo...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is the biography of a French historical figure who died more than two hundred years ago and was 'purposefully disappeared' by his enemies so that his story has largely remained untold until now. Albeit, his novelist son also named Alex Dumas, used his father as his inspiration for his books The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers,so many of his exploits are widely known actually. Tom Reiss has written this historical account by relying on 'old papers--letters, diaries, memoi...more

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Oct 05, 2012 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

THE BLACK COUNT. (2012). Tom Reiss. ***.
The Black Count was one of the names given to the father of Alexander Dumas, the author of “The Three Musketeers” and other rip-roaring adventure novels written during the 19th century which have become classics over the years. It also turns out that his father was also the inspiration for the main character in his novel, “The Count of Monte Cristo.” Count Thomas Alexander Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, to give him his full name, was born in what is today...more

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About Tom Reiss

TOM REISS is the author of the celebrated international bestseller The Orientalist. His biographical pieces have appeared The New Yorker, The New York Times and other publications. He lives with his wife and daughters in New York City.

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The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life

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Quotes from The Black Count: Glory...

“-I'm going to heaven! I replied.

-What do you mean, you're going to heaven?

-Let me pass.

-And what will you do in heaven, my poor child?

-I'm going there to kill God, who killed Daddy.” — 6 people liked it

“GENERAL,
I have learned that the jack--------["jack---"] whose business it is to report to you upon the battle of the 27th [the 27 Nivôse, i.e., January 16] stated that I was only in observation throughout the battle. I don't wish any such observation on him, for he would have shit in his pants.
Salute and Brotherhood!
ALEX. DUMAS” — 2 people liked it

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The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo

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