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Joseph Balsamo #2/2
Joseph Balsamo
Features one of the strangest characters in literature, Joseph Balsamo, also known as Cagliostro (later a key figure in the Affair of the Necklace). An alchemist, conspirator, and Freemason, Balsamo figures prominently in the eventual downfall of the French monarchy.
586 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1846
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About the author
Alexandre Dumas
7,081 books12.4k 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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March 24, 2021
4 stars
ژوزف بالسامو، بیانگر شرایط و اوضاع سیاسی و اجتماعی دوران لوئی پانزدهم است. این کتاب به شرح وقایع سال های ۱۷۷۰ تا ۱۷۷۴ ( زمان مرگ لوئی پانزدهم و جانشینی نوه اش، لوئی شانزدهم) پرداخته است. وقایعی که پانزده سال بعد یعنی در سال ۱۷۸۹ طی یک سری حوادث تا سال ۱۷۹۹ منجر به انقلاب فرانسه و استقرار نظام جمهوری شد که اثرات بسیار زیادی در اوضاع سیاسی و اجتماعی اروپا داشت
روایت طرح شده در خصوص روابط بین درباریان و نحوه کسب و حفظ قدرت توسط آنها به گونه ای توسط نویسنده شهیر قرن نوزدهم، الکساندر دوما روایت شده که گویی شاهد یک روایت معاصر هستیم. صرف نظر از مواردی که مرحوم ذبیح الله منصوری به کتاب اضافه کرده، آنچه که بین درباریان، دوک ها ، کنت ها و ... برای کسب قدرت و نزدیک شدن به منبع قدرت ( شاه، معشوقه او، ولیعهد و عروس شاه)می گذرد بسیار با آنچه که امروزه در برخی جوامع پسا توتالیتره مشاهده می کنیم ، هم خوانی دارد
ژوزف بالسامو، بیانگر شرایط و اوضاع سیاسی و اجتماعی دوران لوئی پانزدهم است. این کتاب به شرح وقایع سال های ۱۷۷۰ تا ۱۷۷۴ ( زمان مرگ لوئی پانزدهم و جانشینی نوه اش، لوئی شانزدهم) پرداخته است. وقایعی که پانزده سال بعد یعنی در سال ۱۷۸۹ طی یک سری حوادث تا سال ۱۷۹۹ منجر به انقلاب فرانسه و استقرار نظام جمهوری شد که اثرات بسیار زیادی در اوضاع سیاسی و اجتماعی اروپا داشت
روایت طرح شده در خصوص روابط بین درباریان و نحوه کسب و حفظ قدرت توسط آنها به گونه ای توسط نویسنده شهیر قرن نوزدهم، الکساندر دوما روایت شده که گویی شاهد یک روایت معاصر هستیم. صرف نظر از مواردی که مرحوم ذبیح الله منصوری به کتاب اضافه کرده، آنچه که بین درباریان، دوک ها ، کنت ها و ... برای کسب قدرت و نزدیک شدن به منبع قدرت ( شاه، معشوقه او، ولیعهد و عروس شاه)می گذرد بسیار با آنچه که امروزه در برخی جوامع پسا توتالیتره مشاهده می کنیم ، هم خوانی دارد
August 20, 2008
Memoirs of a Physician begins where Joseph Balsamo left off as all Paris panics after a fireworks display goes awry and Andrée is almost crushed to death beneath the mob. Andrée's brother Phillip desperately searches for her and is feared dead - until she is returned unharmed to her family by the mysterious Balsamo. Lower born Gilbert is still madly in love with Andrée and he follows her (working as a gardener) when she is taken into service by Marie Antoinette. Madame DuBarry continues her schemes, as does the mysterious Balsamo working with the Freemasons to stir unrest against the monarchy and lustful Louis XV takes one look at the beauteous Andrée and he plots with her father to make her his latest conquest.
Actually, there's a whole lot more to the story than that but this is Dumas and it would take another novel to try to outline the story better. Suffice it to say that as in the first book in this series, the opulence and shenanigans of the French Court, the manipulations of the politicians, Balsamo's hypnotic control over his wife Lorenza and Andrée, secret rooms and hidden staircases, a mad desire by Balsamo's master to obtain the one horrific ingredient needed to complete his elixir of eternal life culminates in a thoroughly unputdownable tale that had me reading well into the wee hours of the morning. I especially loved Gilbert's antics (ROFL, Hollywood would have a field day with this) as he spied on Andrée and the way Dumas used her contempt of his lower status as a way to emphasize the growing disparity between the classes. Next up in the series, The Queen's Necklace (1902).
Side note on the first two books in this series - as I understand it they were originally published in one volume called Memoirs of a Physician and are now published separately as Joseph Balsamo and Memoirs of a Physician. I've noticed some complaints from other reviewers on the quality of editing and translation of some of these newly published editions and went searching for an older used copy and was quite happy with that.
Actually, there's a whole lot more to the story than that but this is Dumas and it would take another novel to try to outline the story better. Suffice it to say that as in the first book in this series, the opulence and shenanigans of the French Court, the manipulations of the politicians, Balsamo's hypnotic control over his wife Lorenza and Andrée, secret rooms and hidden staircases, a mad desire by Balsamo's master to obtain the one horrific ingredient needed to complete his elixir of eternal life culminates in a thoroughly unputdownable tale that had me reading well into the wee hours of the morning. I especially loved Gilbert's antics (ROFL, Hollywood would have a field day with this) as he spied on Andrée and the way Dumas used her contempt of his lower status as a way to emphasize the growing disparity between the classes. Next up in the series, The Queen's Necklace (1902).
Side note on the first two books in this series - as I understand it they were originally published in one volume called Memoirs of a Physician and are now published separately as Joseph Balsamo and Memoirs of a Physician. I've noticed some complaints from other reviewers on the quality of editing and translation of some of these newly published editions and went searching for an older used copy and was quite happy with that.
October 6, 2011
I read this story in two volumes: the Collier editions of _Joseph Balsamo_ and _Memoirs of a Physician_ (which are great translations). I will admit first of all that the first time I attempted to read these I didn't get very far into the book before abandoning it. I think this was due mostly to my expectations, since this story is not really a swashbuckling adventure tale (though it has its share of intrigue) and I was expecting something more like _The Three Musketeers_. I'm glad that I gave the story a second chance though because, for all its differences from his better known tales, it's still classic Dumas.
We start with a suitably moody scene as a mysterious figure enters a secret chamber hidden in the mountains near the Rhine in the midst of a night time storm only to be confronted by the representatives of the secret order of the Illuminati who wish to overthrow the corrupt political regimes of the day. From here things move apace and we discover that the figure we have met is the elusive Joseph Balsamo (later know more famously as the adventurer and supposed immortal Count Cagliostro). Balsamo is entrusted with the leadership of his sect and given the commission to further the fall of the French monarchy.
The story then shifts to another locale: the estate of the impoverished aristoractic Tavernay family. The father, the Baron de Tavernay, is a crusty old man, barely living at a subsistence level despite his title and estate and when not railing at the circumstances of the present, he is living on his memories of the glorious past. Here we also meet one of Dumas' most interesting, and frustrating, characters: Gilbert, a servant boy raised by the Tavernays. Gilbert is a model figure of his times: a boy born to low estate, but with a quick mind and who has read just enough Rousseau and Voltaire to have a rather large chip on his shoulder. Gilbert constantly rails at the injustice of fate that has set foolish aristocrats above himself simply through the chance of birth, and hungers for the fall of this unjust regime. Warring with this inborn dislike of the people who raised him (albeit with little enough care for his welfare) is his nearly all-consuming passion for the apple of the Baron de Tavernay's eye, his daughter Andree.
Of course Andree barely knows that Gilbert exists and so his days are spent in a constant froth, sometimes railing against the injustice of his station, and at others at the injustice of his unrequited love. Into the midst of this little domestic purgatory comes Balsamo, a dashing figure to all who not only promptly informs the horrified Baron that he will soon be visited by the dauphin's fiance who is on her way to Paris (the ill-starred Marie Antoinette), but then mysteriously produces all that the impoverished family needs to impress this great personage apparently out of thin air.
From here a third major thread joins the tale as we begin to be told of the political intrigues of court and see the characters of Marie Antoinette, her somewhat feckless fiance (the future Louis XVI) who lives constantly under the thumb of his domineering grandfather, Louis XV. Added to this power family are the courtiers, most notably Louis XV's mistress Madame du Barry and the old and wily Duke de Richelieu, who are constantly manoeuvering for position at court and who draw into their schemes the hapless Gilbert and innocent Andree, and who in turn are drawn into the wider schemes of Balsamo.
This description barely scratches the surface of what is going on in the tale and doesn't even touch on other interesting elements such as Andree's heroic brother Philippe, the Tavernay's servant girl Nicole (the former lover of Gilbert who also happens to be the spitting image of Marie Antoinette), and a very amusing portrait of the hen-pecked philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau who befriends Gilbert as the latter journeys to Paris. Dumas uses his consummate skill to bring together the varied strands of his plot and show us how all of these characters will be brought together in order to further the plans of the master manipulator (and mesmeric magician) Balsamo.
The only real stumbling block I had, and the thing that put me off the most during my first attempt at the story, were the scenes involving Louis XV and his court. While some elements of this were interesting (namely the intrigues of Madame du Barry as she attempts to get an official presentation at court) others left me somewhat cold as we seemed to follow the foppish king and his meaningless diversions a bit too much. I see what Dumas was doing here: presenting us with a detailed picture of the inherent moral bankruptcy of the French monarchy at the time and priming us with the roots of its ultimate downfall, but one scene of kingly decadence is often much like another and began to get a bit tedious in the end. That said it's still a great story and I recommend it to any hard core fan of Dumas. The character of Gilbert is worth the price of admission and even though he is at times, as I mentioned, a very frustrating, even infuriating, character I think in many ways he is a fascinating one as well.
We start with a suitably moody scene as a mysterious figure enters a secret chamber hidden in the mountains near the Rhine in the midst of a night time storm only to be confronted by the representatives of the secret order of the Illuminati who wish to overthrow the corrupt political regimes of the day. From here things move apace and we discover that the figure we have met is the elusive Joseph Balsamo (later know more famously as the adventurer and supposed immortal Count Cagliostro). Balsamo is entrusted with the leadership of his sect and given the commission to further the fall of the French monarchy.
The story then shifts to another locale: the estate of the impoverished aristoractic Tavernay family. The father, the Baron de Tavernay, is a crusty old man, barely living at a subsistence level despite his title and estate and when not railing at the circumstances of the present, he is living on his memories of the glorious past. Here we also meet one of Dumas' most interesting, and frustrating, characters: Gilbert, a servant boy raised by the Tavernays. Gilbert is a model figure of his times: a boy born to low estate, but with a quick mind and who has read just enough Rousseau and Voltaire to have a rather large chip on his shoulder. Gilbert constantly rails at the injustice of fate that has set foolish aristocrats above himself simply through the chance of birth, and hungers for the fall of this unjust regime. Warring with this inborn dislike of the people who raised him (albeit with little enough care for his welfare) is his nearly all-consuming passion for the apple of the Baron de Tavernay's eye, his daughter Andree.
Of course Andree barely knows that Gilbert exists and so his days are spent in a constant froth, sometimes railing against the injustice of his station, and at others at the injustice of his unrequited love. Into the midst of this little domestic purgatory comes Balsamo, a dashing figure to all who not only promptly informs the horrified Baron that he will soon be visited by the dauphin's fiance who is on her way to Paris (the ill-starred Marie Antoinette), but then mysteriously produces all that the impoverished family needs to impress this great personage apparently out of thin air.
From here a third major thread joins the tale as we begin to be told of the political intrigues of court and see the characters of Marie Antoinette, her somewhat feckless fiance (the future Louis XVI) who lives constantly under the thumb of his domineering grandfather, Louis XV. Added to this power family are the courtiers, most notably Louis XV's mistress Madame du Barry and the old and wily Duke de Richelieu, who are constantly manoeuvering for position at court and who draw into their schemes the hapless Gilbert and innocent Andree, and who in turn are drawn into the wider schemes of Balsamo.
This description barely scratches the surface of what is going on in the tale and doesn't even touch on other interesting elements such as Andree's heroic brother Philippe, the Tavernay's servant girl Nicole (the former lover of Gilbert who also happens to be the spitting image of Marie Antoinette), and a very amusing portrait of the hen-pecked philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau who befriends Gilbert as the latter journeys to Paris. Dumas uses his consummate skill to bring together the varied strands of his plot and show us how all of these characters will be brought together in order to further the plans of the master manipulator (and mesmeric magician) Balsamo.
The only real stumbling block I had, and the thing that put me off the most during my first attempt at the story, were the scenes involving Louis XV and his court. While some elements of this were interesting (namely the intrigues of Madame du Barry as she attempts to get an official presentation at court) others left me somewhat cold as we seemed to follow the foppish king and his meaningless diversions a bit too much. I see what Dumas was doing here: presenting us with a detailed picture of the inherent moral bankruptcy of the French monarchy at the time and priming us with the roots of its ultimate downfall, but one scene of kingly decadence is often much like another and began to get a bit tedious in the end. That said it's still a great story and I recommend it to any hard core fan of Dumas. The character of Gilbert is worth the price of admission and even though he is at times, as I mentioned, a very frustrating, even infuriating, character I think in many ways he is a fascinating one as well.
August 20, 2008
Book one in Dumas' tale of The French Revolution. Joseph Balsamo begins with a meeting in the dead of night high in the mountains as a group of robed and hooded freemasons from around the world meet to plot the fall of the French Monarchy (it's actually more complicated than that, but I'm not going to try to put it into words). The leader of this group, Joseph Balsamo, then takes shelter in a storm at the impoverished household of the Baron de Taverney and his daughter Andrée and things then become very mysterious indeed. How is it the younger Balsamo can recall incidents from Taverney's younger days as if he had been there himself? What mysterious hold does Balsamo have over the beauteous Andrée that he can command her actions with a wave of his hand? How is it that when the party of Marie Antoinette stops at Taverney Balsamo provides a sumptuous repast replete with gold plate out of thin air?
After this, the story switches to Paris and Versailles with the intrigues and shenanigans of Louis XV's mistress Madame DuBarry as she connives to have an elderly Baroness agree to present her at court, Balsamo's wife begging sanctuary at a nunnery (very creepy), the wedding procession of Marie Antoinette, Balsamo's mentor's efforts to find the secret to eternal life (the final ingredient needed being the most costly of all) and ending in one heck of a cliff hanger as a fireworks display goes awry and puts Andrée in harm's way with only one person to save her.
Suffice it to say that Dumas' tale of the lives and loves of the Court of Louis XV and the growing tension amongst the lower classes of Paris and beyond was quite entertaining, especially with the mysterious appearances and disappearances of Balsamo in and out of the story. I also very much enjoyed the way Dumas used the character of Gilbert and his rationales about his lack of bread and the methods he would use to obtain the bread an excellent way to support the early beginnings of socialism and resentment against the monarchy. Be advised, you won't find the swashbuckling page turning excitement of the Musketeer series. This is the first of a five volume series and Dumas is setting up much of the background for the later books in this one, so some readers might find this slow paced at times and I only recommend this for Dumas fans (I'm one) or for those looking for well written fictional tales of the times leading up to the French Revolution. Next book in the series, Memoirs of a Physician.
Note, I see some other reviewers complaining about a poorly published edition of this book. I obtained a nice aging copy from the library and was quite satisfied with that, and my review is for that book and not the Boomer Publishing edition.
After this, the story switches to Paris and Versailles with the intrigues and shenanigans of Louis XV's mistress Madame DuBarry as she connives to have an elderly Baroness agree to present her at court, Balsamo's wife begging sanctuary at a nunnery (very creepy), the wedding procession of Marie Antoinette, Balsamo's mentor's efforts to find the secret to eternal life (the final ingredient needed being the most costly of all) and ending in one heck of a cliff hanger as a fireworks display goes awry and puts Andrée in harm's way with only one person to save her.
Suffice it to say that Dumas' tale of the lives and loves of the Court of Louis XV and the growing tension amongst the lower classes of Paris and beyond was quite entertaining, especially with the mysterious appearances and disappearances of Balsamo in and out of the story. I also very much enjoyed the way Dumas used the character of Gilbert and his rationales about his lack of bread and the methods he would use to obtain the bread an excellent way to support the early beginnings of socialism and resentment against the monarchy. Be advised, you won't find the swashbuckling page turning excitement of the Musketeer series. This is the first of a five volume series and Dumas is setting up much of the background for the later books in this one, so some readers might find this slow paced at times and I only recommend this for Dumas fans (I'm one) or for those looking for well written fictional tales of the times leading up to the French Revolution. Next book in the series, Memoirs of a Physician.
Note, I see some other reviewers complaining about a poorly published edition of this book. I obtained a nice aging copy from the library and was quite satisfied with that, and my review is for that book and not the Boomer Publishing edition.
February 4, 2020
Okay, first a rant and then a brief review:
The state of publishing with regard to Dumas' works in an absolute shambles, to such an extent that I can't say with any certainty what I'm actually being asked to review here. Joseph Balsamo is the first book in Dumas' Marie Antoinette romances. Or, does it refer to the first half of a book, sometimes divided into (1) Joseph Balsamo and (2) Memoirs of a Physician. Except that in the edition I have of Memoirs of a Physician apparently also includes the contents of (3) Andrée de Taverney.
Further confusing matters, Joseph Balsamo has been published under the name Memoirs of a Physician... as well as Cagliostro; Madame Dubarry; The Countess Dubarry; and The Elixir of Life. To the general public the entire matter is moot, because the only book out of the entire (~8 volume) Marie Antoinette romances that has even been published in my lifetime is The Knight of Maison-Rouge... THE FINAL BOOK IN THE SERIES!!!
Having gotten that off my chest... I began the series by reading The Knight of Maison-Rouge because it's the most readily available. Although it totally works as a stand-alone novel, it's fascinating to jump back to the start of a long sequence of events and find how everything started unfolding. Even having already read the dénouement I was completely unprepared for Joseph Balsamo, so unlike any of Dumas' other creations, and the opening scenes so unlike any settings he's depicted elsewhere. I'm ready to jump right back in and see what Balsamo's sorcery portends for for the elixir of life, for Lorenza, for Gilbert, for the Taverneys... for France!
The state of publishing with regard to Dumas' works in an absolute shambles, to such an extent that I can't say with any certainty what I'm actually being asked to review here. Joseph Balsamo is the first book in Dumas' Marie Antoinette romances. Or, does it refer to the first half of a book, sometimes divided into (1) Joseph Balsamo and (2) Memoirs of a Physician. Except that in the edition I have of Memoirs of a Physician apparently also includes the contents of (3) Andrée de Taverney.
Further confusing matters, Joseph Balsamo has been published under the name Memoirs of a Physician... as well as Cagliostro; Madame Dubarry; The Countess Dubarry; and The Elixir of Life. To the general public the entire matter is moot, because the only book out of the entire (~8 volume) Marie Antoinette romances that has even been published in my lifetime is The Knight of Maison-Rouge... THE FINAL BOOK IN THE SERIES!!!
Having gotten that off my chest... I began the series by reading The Knight of Maison-Rouge because it's the most readily available. Although it totally works as a stand-alone novel, it's fascinating to jump back to the start of a long sequence of events and find how everything started unfolding. Even having already read the dénouement I was completely unprepared for Joseph Balsamo, so unlike any of Dumas' other creations, and the opening scenes so unlike any settings he's depicted elsewhere. I'm ready to jump right back in and see what Balsamo's sorcery portends for for the elixir of life, for Lorenza, for Gilbert, for the Taverneys... for France!
September 8, 2017
کتاب ژوزف بالسامو اثر الکساندر دوما یکی از بهترین رمان های تاریخی دنیاست و درست گفت ذبیح ال... منصوری که وقتی این رمان و رمان مکملش یعنی غرش طوفان رو میخونی دیگه هیچ رمانی به دل آدم نمی چسبه خلاصه ی این کتاب و غرش رو می توان در گفتگوی لوییز و لویی پانزدهم در جلد اول ژوزف بالسامو پیدا کرد اونجایی که لوییز بعد از تعر��ف وضع بد زندگی مردم میگه : تمام این اشخاص چه در شهر و چه در مزارع و قراء و قصبات تا دیروز ناله می کردند ولی امروز دیگر ناله نمی کنند بلکه از دهان آنها غرش بیرون می آید و مشت های خود را گره می کنند تا روزی به کار بی اندازند و بطور کل خلاصه کتاب در کلمه انقلاب خلاصه می شود .
در تعریف این کتاب می تونم بگم که حتی یک خط هم از این کتاب اضافه نیست
این کتاب خیلی سال بود که تو کتابخانه خونمون بود و همیشه میدیدمش ولی سمتش نمی رفتم تا این که یک روز یکی از دوستان عزیزم گفت بخون که خیلی خوبه و من تا حالا سه بار خوندمش
کسانی هم که این کتاب و کتاب های دوما رو میخونن بعد از مدتی متوجه می شن که کتاب های دوما یک سیر تاریخی هستن که باید به ترتیب خوانده بشن
یعنی به ترتیب میشه سه تفنگدار ,قبل از طوفان, ژوزف بالسامو و در تهایت غرش طوفان که البته هرکتابی از مجموعه چندین کتاب تشکیل شده که تو ایران این کتاب ها یکی شده و با این نام ها چاپ شده که البته من حدودا بیشتر اون تک کتاب ها رو گیر آوردم تا بخونم که البته چند وقت پیش کتاب سه تفگندار و قبل از طوفان رو قیمت کردم که برای جفتش باید نزدیک ششصد هزارتومن پول بدم
در تعریف این کتاب می تونم بگم که حتی یک خط هم از این کتاب اضافه نیست
این کتاب خیلی سال بود که تو کتابخانه خونمون بود و همیشه میدیدمش ولی سمتش نمی رفتم تا این که یک روز یکی از دوستان عزیزم گفت بخون که خیلی خوبه و من تا حالا سه بار خوندمش
کسانی هم که این کتاب و کتاب های دوما رو میخونن بعد از مدتی متوجه می شن که کتاب های دوما یک سیر تاریخی هستن که باید به ترتیب خوانده بشن
یعنی به ترتیب میشه سه تفنگدار ,قبل از طوفان, ژوزف بالسامو و در تهایت غرش طوفان که البته هرکتابی از مجموعه چندین کتاب تشکیل شده که تو ایران این کتاب ها یکی شده و با این نام ها چاپ شده که البته من حدودا بیشتر اون تک کتاب ها رو گیر آوردم تا بخونم که البته چند وقت پیش کتاب سه تفگندار و قبل از طوفان رو قیمت کردم که برای جفتش باید نزدیک ششصد هزارتومن پول بدم
March 9, 2024
რა თქმა უნდა, ვიცი, რომ დიუმა ცნობილი მატყუარაა, მაგრამ ცოდვა გამხელილი ჯობს - ხანდახან, როდესაც უბრალოდ მშვიდი (არა მოსაწყენი) საკითხავი მჭირდება, მასზე უკეთეს მეგზურს ვერსად ვიპოვი. ახლაც ასეა. ჟოზეფ ბალზამოს (იგივე გრაფი ფენიქსის ან კალიოსტროს) "ვიზიტი" საფრანგეთის სამეფო კარზე, სადაც მთავარი ხელისუფალი ჟანა დიუ ბარი გახლდათ და არა ლუდოვიკო მე-15, წიგნის გვერდით გადადების სურვილს არ იწვევს. აქ ყველაფერი უხვადაა - ჯადოქრობა, პოლიტიკური ინტრიგები, ცნობილი თუ უცნობი ადამიანების პირადი ცხოვრების ეპიზოდები, რევოლუციის ჯერ კიდევ შორეული ქარის ქროლვა...
May 5, 2013
The book was amazing, frankly speaking. I daresay that it was even better than the better-known novels by Dumas, e.g. 'Count of Monte Cristo'. The plot was complex with unexpected twists in every chapter, and I love how Dumas builds his characters - my favourites were duc de Richelieu and Nicole - you really start to think with them, worry about them, care for them. Apart from the intrigues at court, I also liked the 'metaphysical' parts, described in an unusual and fascinating way. I definitely recommend the book to any fan of historical fiction and classic Dumas - it's a masterpiece.
March 7, 2007
Perfect Book...
The reason for a 17-years of Friendship...
Hail to Joseph Balsamo
The reason for a 17-years of Friendship...
Hail to Joseph Balsamo
June 3, 2015
Exciting. Keeps moving. Lots of characters whose lives entertwine. Keeps you wanting to read non-stop.
March 17, 2025
great literature of course…but too, too long.
You get lost into the circonvolution of the story, not really seeing all the complot put into place.
Do I recommend for the continuation of Memoire d'un médecin?
Not really, too much a long work for the satisfaction you get, and not really important for the follow-up volumes.
For the beauty of the elegant prose, and philosophical and erudite insight in some parts, you can.
But plot-wise…nope.
4 stars anyway. because...I mean...you know...its fucking Alexandre Dumas ( and Antoine Maquet)!
You get lost into the circonvolution of the story, not really seeing all the complot put into place.
Do I recommend for the continuation of Memoire d'un médecin?
Not really, too much a long work for the satisfaction you get, and not really important for the follow-up volumes.
For the beauty of the elegant prose, and philosophical and erudite insight in some parts, you can.
But plot-wise…nope.
4 stars anyway. because...I mean...you know...its fucking Alexandre Dumas ( and Antoine Maquet)!
December 1, 2016
Dumas wrote about many historical periods in France. Joseph Balsamo was the first in his cycle about the French Revolution. I never got very attached to it. Sure, it was all the hooks and cliff-hangers that one comes to expect from Dumas, but the characters lack the depth and reality of his truly great protagonists and villains.
May 28, 2024
I read it as a child (at the age of 13), borrowing it from my parents’ bookshelves, and I was stunned by it. Still remember it vividly.
Dumas’s style is captivating, the story is exciting and engaging. One of the most memorable classics I’ve ever read.
Dumas’s style is captivating, the story is exciting and engaging. One of the most memorable classics I’ve ever read.
September 15, 2007
balsamo marde royahaye mane kheili shakhsiatesho doost midaram... zende bad duma
August 12, 2025
I only recommend the Collier & Sons edition, found for free on Google Books.
This is the first in a series of six. I actually read the last of the series first (Knight of Maison Rouge) but that doesn’t affect much.
Dumas sets up the titular Joseph Balsamo (more well known as Count Cagliostro) as a master manipulator of events leading to the French Revolution. In history as in the book he’s an alchemist, hypnotist, diviner, etc. While considered a fraud in our world, this book lends him some real, almost supernatural powers.
For the most part he takes a back seat in this book - the major characters are the fictional Taverney family, through which we get access to various figures of the era - King Louis, Madame du Barry (perhaps this book’s villain), Marie Antoinette, Rousseau, etc.
While this book is mostly setup for the wild ride ahead, you can still see the themes of the era begin to blossom - corruption, monetary waste, your birth determining your status and fate, etc.
I highly recommend if you’re invested in this era, otherwise it might be a bit dry.
This is the first in a series of six. I actually read the last of the series first (Knight of Maison Rouge) but that doesn’t affect much.
Dumas sets up the titular Joseph Balsamo (more well known as Count Cagliostro) as a master manipulator of events leading to the French Revolution. In history as in the book he’s an alchemist, hypnotist, diviner, etc. While considered a fraud in our world, this book lends him some real, almost supernatural powers.
For the most part he takes a back seat in this book - the major characters are the fictional Taverney family, through which we get access to various figures of the era - King Louis, Madame du Barry (perhaps this book’s villain), Marie Antoinette, Rousseau, etc.
While this book is mostly setup for the wild ride ahead, you can still see the themes of the era begin to blossom - corruption, monetary waste, your birth determining your status and fate, etc.
I highly recommend if you’re invested in this era, otherwise it might be a bit dry.
July 23, 2020
Joseph Balsamo heeft alle eigenschappen van een goed feuilleton: mysterie, actie, intriges, romantiek, ... Alleen mis ik een held. Geen enkele van de personages beantwoordt aan de verwachtingen van de klassieke romanheld. Na eindeloze wendingen ontgoochelde mij dat toch stilaan. 165 hoofdstukken is ook wel een beetje van het goede teveel. En dan is dit eigenlijk nog maar het eerste deel van een tetralogie. Nog even wachten vooraleer ik aan deel 2 begin.
June 7, 2025
Another great plot by Dumas. It's a historical fiction series set during the French revolution. Extremely fast paced with action on every page,I really enjoy the author's writing style, however I do miss the elaborate prose of The Three Musketeer series, especially the second last book - Louise De la Valliere. In this book series for the first time I am seeing Dumas deal with mesmerism and alchemy. Love all the characters so far. Can't wait to read the next book.
August 19, 2021
L’inizio di una saga che si preannuncia succulenta! I colpi di scena e le argiuzie di Dumas non mancano, ma la trama si rivela interessante solo da metà libro. Un’attesa ben riposta ma che si merita solo un “molto buono”
March 2, 2018
Another great entry in Dumas' French historical fiction. Characters were unique and intriguing. The end will make you reflect greatly on characters you liked and repercussions of actions.
May 1, 2019
Historical fiction, thriller-drama from Dumas.
November 4, 2020
Entertaining
July 29, 2025
Blooming atrocious!!!
January 12, 2018
Це свого роду поєднання містики та істориного роману. Як і у попередніх романах О. Дюми ми знайомимося з історичними постаттями Франції. Серед них Людовік 15, графиня Дю Баррі, герцог Ришельє (не той, що кардинал), Жан Поль-Марат, Жан-Жак Руссо та інші. Поряд з ними з'являться таємничий авнантюрист граф Каліостро, який володіє гіпнозом та перетворює звичайні метали у золото.
August 19, 2020
In one word "Boring".
March 9, 2013
I read the 1910 Collier edition of this book, the first of the six-book Marie Antoinette series (this copy says that the order is Joseph Balsamo, Memoirs of a Physician, The Queen's Necklace, Taking the Bastile, The Countess de Charny, and The Chevalier de Maison-Rouge). Classic Dumas! I especially enjoyed the appearance of Jean-Jacques Rousseau as a character. Other reviewers here have summarized the book much more eloquently than I have the ambition to right now; suffice it to say that I very much enjoyed it and am curious to see what these characters are up to in the next book.
February 7, 2019
Прочитано дуже давно. У часи союзу книги Дюма були таким собі ковтком свободи, адже можна було прочитати історичні, авантюрні романи без будь-яких ідеологічних спотворень. Розповідь про авантюри таємничого графа Каліостро у Франції у другій половині XVIII століття. Уперше дізнався про таємничий орган ілюмінатів. Кілька цікавих сюжетних ліній: Джозеф Бальзамо (граф Каліостро), Жільбер, Марія Антуанетта. Автор яскраво описує життя Франції у період початку занепаду династії Бурбонів.
December 7, 2008
ketabaye duma takan albate pedar na pesar radebandiye man betartib 1-ghoreshe tofan 2. jozef balsamo 3. 3tofangdar 4. ghabl az tofan 5. count monte cristo 5. madam dupari man 4ataye avalo har kodomo ta alan 2bar khondam hich ketabiam dost nadaram bekhonam agar ketabi dige az dumaye pedar soragh darin begin mamnon misham
Read
September 19, 2009ghshang tarin vva ziba tarin romane tarikhi bud ke man be omram khunde buudam
hanuz bad az khundane in roman hiiich ketabi be jazabie in kettab nadidam
ja dare az motarjemesham ghadr dani beshe
zabihola mansurii tarjome ravani az in ketab karde ke dastesh dard nakone
7 jelde baghie in ketab ham ghoreshe tufane ke be nazare man in 10 jeld jozve arzandetarin va ziba tarin romanhaye tarikh hastan
hanuz bad az khundane in roman hiiich ketabi be jazabie in kettab nadidam
ja dare az motarjemesham ghadr dani beshe
zabihola mansurii tarjome ravani az in ketab karde ke dastesh dard nakone
7 jelde baghie in ketab ham ghoreshe tufane ke be nazare man in 10 jeld jozve arzandetarin va ziba tarin romanhaye tarikh hastan
Want to read
December 20, 2014Hello, I've started reading Joseph Balsamo this summer but I got bored half way through the book and so I stopped. Could someone give me a quick summary of the plot and what relationships the characters have with each other as I want to start reading it again but I don't want to start all the way from the beginning? It would be much appreciated. Thank you. :)
February 27, 2008
Balsamo is one of his most interesting characters, a mystic and freemason who is sort of evil and horrible but sort of wonderful and noble — a classic complex and multilayered Dumas hero. He reappears in several Dumas titles. This is one of my favorite Dumas.
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