Pulitzer Prize Biography Winner
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo
by Tom Reiss
Summary
Reiss recovers the forgotten life of General Alex Dumas, the son of an enslaved woman in Saint Domingue who rose to command armies in revolutionary France. The narrative shows how a man of mixed race reached the heights of the French military before racism and Napoleon's betrayal destroyed his career. Reiss argues that this real father inspired the heroes his novelist son, Alexandre Dumas, later made famous.
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Historical Context & Significance
The general was the father of novelist Alexandre Dumas, who drew on his story for The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.