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Fernande
The aristocratic Barthele family of the 1830s attempts to revive family member Maurice from a fatal lovesickness by bringing the object of his desires, Fernande, to their baronial country estate
144 pages, Hardcover
First published December 7, 1988
3 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Alexandre Dumas
7,084 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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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 2, 2017
There is a quote in the book that I think perfectly sums up the story: "Alas! Our story is not so much a narrative of events as a drama of analysis. It is a moral autopsy that we have undertaken."
This story is about a very interesting social situation that would best be described as a love triangle (though there are like six people involved). The whole story takes place over the course of one day and Dumas did a great job of examining how different people were thinking and feeling throughout the day. No huge events take place but I enjoy this kind of story: a chance for the reader to get a glimpse at what motivates people to act the way they do.
The best part of Fernande is probably the length. It's short and to the point. Things never have time to drag and Dumas did well to stay on point.
I would certainly recommend Fernande. The characters are well done and there is plenty to think about.
This story is about a very interesting social situation that would best be described as a love triangle (though there are like six people involved). The whole story takes place over the course of one day and Dumas did a great job of examining how different people were thinking and feeling throughout the day. No huge events take place but I enjoy this kind of story: a chance for the reader to get a glimpse at what motivates people to act the way they do.
The best part of Fernande is probably the length. It's short and to the point. Things never have time to drag and Dumas did well to stay on point.
I would certainly recommend Fernande. The characters are well done and there is plenty to think about.
February 21, 2011
Alexandre Dumas is one of my favorite authors. I can't out his books down - they are fun and keep you on the edge of your seat, plus the time period they are all set in in my favorite.
September 27, 2025
It's Maurice's world and we're all just living in it.
November 4, 2011
3.5 stars
I picked up this book because it's written by the same man who wrote The Three Musketeers. These are two completely different novels! The Three Musketeers is a comedy, a delightful tale full of adventure and romance and laughter. Fernande is a social commentary, full of lessons and a cautionary tale.
What did I learn? Love the one you're with. When you make a commitment to someone, honor your commitment. Even if you don't love that person, respect them and learn to love them. Don't fall in love with someone else and, especially, don't lie to that other person and let them think you are single. I really felt for Fernande. She was mostly a product of her circumstances but grew as the novel progresses. She was definitely my favorite character.
I picked up this book because it's written by the same man who wrote The Three Musketeers. These are two completely different novels! The Three Musketeers is a comedy, a delightful tale full of adventure and romance and laughter. Fernande is a social commentary, full of lessons and a cautionary tale.
What did I learn? Love the one you're with. When you make a commitment to someone, honor your commitment. Even if you don't love that person, respect them and learn to love them. Don't fall in love with someone else and, especially, don't lie to that other person and let them think you are single. I really felt for Fernande. She was mostly a product of her circumstances but grew as the novel progresses. She was definitely my favorite character.
May 11, 2018
Beautiful crisp lyric prose. Fernande is a compelling character. I found myself puzzled that this is considered a "lesser" novel by Dumas. I found myself moved to tears near the end.
July 14, 2019
Nice summer read by the pool.
Grand merci monseigneur Alexandre Dumas.
Grand merci monseigneur Alexandre Dumas.
January 13, 2020
This would make a great movie.
January 24, 2018
Very few books that I have read in my life have touched me as this one has. This is a reread. I first read it when I was a teen and it touched me then. Now years later perhaps I believe with more life experiences the nuances that upon first reading I missed affect me more. That sense of longing, not grasping what you believe with all your heart is the key to happiness, denied by the simple statement, It cannot be. I hate to admit I teared up a bit with this book but I did. Down to the last page Dumas held me. A quick read but a great one.
November 3, 2022
Not the typical fare one expects of a Dumas novel, but an easy, brisk contemporary morality tale. If he had found a neater, more patently absurd ending to match the situational complexities of the story, I would have said he'd anticipated Oscar Wilde by 50 years.
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July 9, 20191835 Paris about Shakespearian social parody
July 19, 2023
A satisfying read. Short, dramatic, with a happy ending.
January 30, 2024
I had never heard of this Dumas novel but it did not disappoint 🫶
December 25, 2025
It’s Maurice’s world they were all just living in it while he slept
May 22, 2008
Returned this to the library -- realized I'd read it before -- no time or interest in rereading it at this point.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews