Born: July 24, 1802 | Died: December 5, 1870
Nationality: French | Genre: Classic Fiction, Historical Adventure
Alexandre Dumas was a French writer best known for fast-moving adventure stories like The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. He grew up the son of a famous general, moved to Paris as a young man, and started out as a clerk before turning to the stage. His plays made him popular, and soon he was writing novels that ran in newspapers chapter by chapter. Working with researchers and collaborators, he built big, lively worlds full of duels, escapes, secret plots, and loyal friendships. His heroes chase honor and justice, and his villains are clever enough to make the victories feel earned.
Dumas lived with great energy. He traveled widely, spent money freely, and even built a small castle he called the Château de Monte-Cristo. Success brought him fame and also debts, but his storytelling never lost its spark. His books are clear, bold, and fun to read, with scenes that stay in your mind long after you finish. More than a century later, his characters still leap off the page—and his tales of courage, love, and revenge keep finding new readers and new film and TV versions around the world.
I have loved you long; I shall love you long: while I live and, if there is mercy, after.
fromThe Count of Monte CristobyI have studied men’s vices in order to defend myself against them; and I have found that, like serpents, they fly the light.
fromThe Count of Monte CristobyThose born to wealth, and who have the means of gratifying every wish, know not what is to suffer.
fromThe Count of Monte CristobyNo, my dear fellow! I am not proud, but I am happy, and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.
fromThe Count of Monte CristobyMisfortune is needed to bring to light the treasures of the human mind.
fromThe Count of Monte CristobyHappiness is like the enchanted palaces we read of in our childhood, where fierce, fiery dragons defend the entrance and approach.
fromThe Count of Monte CristobyI am not proud; I am simply a man who has suffered, and who has resolved that others shall suffer in their turn.
fromThe Count of Monte CristobyHatred is blind, rage carries you away; and he who pours out vengeance runs the risk of tasting a bitter draught.
fromThe Count of Monte CristobyI am not cruel, only just; I do unto others what they have done unto me.
fromThe Count of Monte CristobyUnhappiness is like the rain: it patters at first, then pours, and when you think it is over, a fresh cloud breaks above your head.
fromThe Count of Monte CristobyGod has supplied man with the intelligence that enables him to overcome the limitations of natural conditions. I furnished myself with a light.
fromThe Count of Monte Cristoby