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Joseph Balsamo #1/2
Joseph Balsamo
Joseph Balsamo is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, inspired by the life and personality of Giuseppe Balsamo, commonly referred to as Count Alessandro di Cagliostro. It is the first of six books in Dumas' Marie Antoinette series and is followed by Memoirs of a Physician, The Queen's Necklace, Taking the Bastille, The Countess de Charny, and Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge, all coming soon from Hawthorne . Joseph Balsamo appeared in serial form in La Presse between 1846 and 1849. This is an edited reprint of the unabridged 1902 translation published by P.F. Collier and Son.
810 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1850
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About the author
Alexandre Dumas
6,002 books12.6k followersThis note regards Alexandre Dumas, père, the father of Alexandre Dumas, fils (son). For the son, see Alexandre Dumas fils.
Alexandre Dumas père, born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a towering figure of 19th-century French literature whose historical novels and adventure tales earned global renown. Best known for The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and other swashbuckling epics, Dumas crafted stories filled with daring heroes, dramatic twists, and vivid historical backdrops. His works, often serialized and immensely popular with the public, helped shape the modern adventure genre and remain enduring staples of world literature.
Dumas was the son of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a celebrated general in Revolutionary France and the highest-ranking man of African descent in a European army at the time. His father’s early death left the family in poverty, but Dumas’s upbringing was nonetheless marked by strong personal ambition and a deep admiration for his father’s achievements. He moved to Paris as a young man and began his literary career writing for the theatre, quickly rising to prominence in the Romantic movement with successful plays like Henri III et sa cour and Antony.
In the 1840s, Dumas turned increasingly toward prose fiction, particularly serialized novels, which reached vast audiences through French newspapers. His collaboration with Auguste Maquet, a skilled plotter and historian, proved fruitful. While Maquet drafted outlines and conducted research, Dumas infused the narratives with flair, dialogue, and color. The result was a string of literary triumphs, including The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, both published in 1844. These novels exemplified Dumas’s flair for suspenseful pacing, memorable characters, and grand themes of justice, loyalty, and revenge.
The D’Artagnan Romances—The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte of Bragelonne—cemented his fame. They follow the adventures of the titular Gascon hero and his comrades Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, blending historical fact and fiction into richly imagined narratives. The Count of Monte Cristo offered a darker, more introspective tale of betrayal and retribution, with intricate plotting and a deeply philosophical core.
Dumas was also active in journalism and theater. He founded the Théâtre Historique in Paris, which staged dramatizations of his own novels. A prolific and energetic writer, he is estimated to have written or co-written over 100,000 pages of fiction, plays, memoirs, travel books, and essays. He also had a strong interest in food and published a massive culinary encyclopedia, Le Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine, filled with recipes, anecdotes, and reflections on gastronomy.
Despite his enormous success, Dumas was frequently plagued by financial troubles. He led a lavish lifestyle, building the ornate Château de Monte-Cristo near Paris, employing large staffs, and supporting many friends and relatives. His generosity and appetite for life often outpaced his income, leading to mounting debts. Still, his creative drive rarely waned.
Dumas’s mixed-race background was a source of both pride and tension in his life. He was outspoken about his heritage and used his platform to address race and injustice. In his novel Georges, he explored issues of colonialism and identity through a Creole protagonist. Though he encountered racism, he refused to be silenced, famously replying to a racial insult by pointing to his ancestry and achievements with dignity and wit.
Later in life, Dumas continued writing and traveling, spending time in Belgium, Italy, and Russia. He supported nationalist causes, particularly Italian unification, and even founded a newspaper to advocate for Giuseppe Garibaldi. Though his popularity waned somewhat in his final years, his literary legacy grew steadily. He wrote in a style that was accessible, entertaining, and emotionally reso
Alexandre Dumas père, born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a towering figure of 19th-century French literature whose historical novels and adventure tales earned global renown. Best known for The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and other swashbuckling epics, Dumas crafted stories filled with daring heroes, dramatic twists, and vivid historical backdrops. His works, often serialized and immensely popular with the public, helped shape the modern adventure genre and remain enduring staples of world literature.
Dumas was the son of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a celebrated general in Revolutionary France and the highest-ranking man of African descent in a European army at the time. His father’s early death left the family in poverty, but Dumas’s upbringing was nonetheless marked by strong personal ambition and a deep admiration for his father’s achievements. He moved to Paris as a young man and began his literary career writing for the theatre, quickly rising to prominence in the Romantic movement with successful plays like Henri III et sa cour and Antony.
In the 1840s, Dumas turned increasingly toward prose fiction, particularly serialized novels, which reached vast audiences through French newspapers. His collaboration with Auguste Maquet, a skilled plotter and historian, proved fruitful. While Maquet drafted outlines and conducted research, Dumas infused the narratives with flair, dialogue, and color. The result was a string of literary triumphs, including The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, both published in 1844. These novels exemplified Dumas’s flair for suspenseful pacing, memorable characters, and grand themes of justice, loyalty, and revenge.
The D’Artagnan Romances—The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte of Bragelonne—cemented his fame. They follow the adventures of the titular Gascon hero and his comrades Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, blending historical fact and fiction into richly imagined narratives. The Count of Monte Cristo offered a darker, more introspective tale of betrayal and retribution, with intricate plotting and a deeply philosophical core.
Dumas was also active in journalism and theater. He founded the Théâtre Historique in Paris, which staged dramatizations of his own novels. A prolific and energetic writer, he is estimated to have written or co-written over 100,000 pages of fiction, plays, memoirs, travel books, and essays. He also had a strong interest in food and published a massive culinary encyclopedia, Le Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine, filled with recipes, anecdotes, and reflections on gastronomy.
Despite his enormous success, Dumas was frequently plagued by financial troubles. He led a lavish lifestyle, building the ornate Château de Monte-Cristo near Paris, employing large staffs, and supporting many friends and relatives. His generosity and appetite for life often outpaced his income, leading to mounting debts. Still, his creative drive rarely waned.
Dumas’s mixed-race background was a source of both pride and tension in his life. He was outspoken about his heritage and used his platform to address race and injustice. In his novel Georges, he explored issues of colonialism and identity through a Creole protagonist. Though he encountered racism, he refused to be silenced, famously replying to a racial insult by pointing to his ancestry and achievements with dignity and wit.
Later in life, Dumas continued writing and traveling, spending time in Belgium, Italy, and Russia. He supported nationalist causes, particularly Italian unification, and even founded a newspaper to advocate for Giuseppe Garibaldi. Though his popularity waned somewhat in his final years, his literary legacy grew steadily. He wrote in a style that was accessible, entertaining, and emotionally reso
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 29, 2015
#1, Vol. 1 The Marie Antoinette Romances series - Historical Fiction
Based on events just before, during and after the fall of the French monarchy, this second volume of book 1 follows volume one, titled Joseph Balsamo.
Very engrossing. The arrow stops in the "high" range on the Intrigue-O-Meter, with King Louie XV, his mistress, Mme. Dubarry, his closest advisors -- all of them with separate agendas, trying to manipulate as many people as possible to achieve their goals.
Minor characters from volume 1 return, as Dumas develops their stories and sub-plots, which intersect with those at the very top of the French monarchy.
After 534 pages (book 1, volume 2), I was very eager to pick up book 2 The Queen's Necklace. Needing to finish books for challenges ending December 31 is the only thing that stopped me.
Even with book 1's total of 1600+ pages, I will definitely reread this series within a few years.
Based on events just before, during and after the fall of the French monarchy, this second volume of book 1 follows volume one, titled Joseph Balsamo.
Very engrossing. The arrow stops in the "high" range on the Intrigue-O-Meter, with King Louie XV, his mistress, Mme. Dubarry, his closest advisors -- all of them with separate agendas, trying to manipulate as many people as possible to achieve their goals.
Minor characters from volume 1 return, as Dumas develops their stories and sub-plots, which intersect with those at the very top of the French monarchy.
After 534 pages (book 1, volume 2), I was very eager to pick up book 2 The Queen's Necklace. Needing to finish books for challenges ending December 31 is the only thing that stopped me.
Even with book 1's total of 1600+ pages, I will definitely reread this series within a few years.
September 13, 2018
Thanks to the old downtown library ,I was able to select a 3 volume 1893 set of Memoirs Of A Physician by Little,Brown and Company-D'Artagnan edition that were in immaculate condition(I was afraid to eat while reading as the pages looked as if they'd never been touched in all these years.)...All I can say is anyone endeavoring to tackle a Dumas epic series,make sure you know the order of the books ,try to locate older editions(half price books,library,online),as I've been hearing horror stories on the translations of current editions...make sure you have The Queen's Necklace on hand and Taking The Bastille,as you will surely notice..as surely as this is Dumas,that this thing is not coming to an end and you will be wanting to continue..Fear not..don't be intimidated by those dusty old volumes..no sooner do you begin reading do you enter the realm of delightful ,fast,amusing,friendly story telling..
January 3, 2021
I came to Dumas through Umberto Echo and the Prague Cemetery. I’m only sorry that it has taken so long to discover Dumas and his history scented romances. His style of story telling is entertaining and insightful. I have read eight of his novels these past few weeks an will likely finish the collection of 27 novels purchased from Amazon.
March 11, 2026
I’m moving my reviews / ratings to StoryGraph, so come and follow me there (username: jkuhlen). This was a tedious read and I wrote a more full review on SG
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January 12, 2018Start/Suspended: 4/27/12
First let me begin this review by saying that I read this book back in 2012. However, after I read a book, I always try to write out my feelings on the story when I finish. Sometimes, I’m moved to write a great deal to type up later. Other times, I just feel up to writing a very basic review. I never intended for it to take me almost six YEARS to get it on my GoodReads account, but it has. Obviously, by now, I don’t really remember much about the story, though sometimes my notes help jog my memory. So, if the following review doesn’t really say much or deal too much with the story or plot, that’s probably because I wasn’t moved by one or the other or both to write more than I did. However, such as it is I give to you.
My Review—This was really very uninteresting. I could NOT understand or get into it in 22 pages, so I’m not going to bother trying because I have too many books to read that I DO like or want to try.
Grade: N/A
First let me begin this review by saying that I read this book back in 2012. However, after I read a book, I always try to write out my feelings on the story when I finish. Sometimes, I’m moved to write a great deal to type up later. Other times, I just feel up to writing a very basic review. I never intended for it to take me almost six YEARS to get it on my GoodReads account, but it has. Obviously, by now, I don’t really remember much about the story, though sometimes my notes help jog my memory. So, if the following review doesn’t really say much or deal too much with the story or plot, that’s probably because I wasn’t moved by one or the other or both to write more than I did. However, such as it is I give to you.
My Review—This was really very uninteresting. I could NOT understand or get into it in 22 pages, so I’m not going to bother trying because I have too many books to read that I DO like or want to try.
Grade: N/A
September 1, 2016
Dumas spent a lot of time throughout the novel relating events, and I thought the book ended rather abruptly, as though he got tired of it and simply wanted to be done. Some of the events which occur and many of the primary characters seem to have accomplished nothing of consequence by the end of the novel. I did enjoy the slight twist at the end- it seemed fitting that it should happen that way. I would have liked to see some more resolution of the events which Dumas painstakingly sets in motion throughout the story rather than the somewhat ambiguous ending we receive.
January 14, 2016
entertaining as always from Dumas. I was not expecting such fantasy from balsamo and it kind of threw me off a times from the book. Nevertheless the series seems to be very entertaining and I couldn't put the book down once I started. For anyone who likes the revolution era and books revolving around it, this is another one to read.
May 5, 2023
Third time I have read Memoirs of a Physician. It’s great!!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews