The Knight of Maison-Rouge: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Alexandre Dumas

Tags

alexandre dumas, france, french revolution, historical fiction

 Why no cover? Because most of the newer editions of this series are questionable translations and a bad translation = a mediocre Dumas novel. There are libraries that have the 100 year old editions and if you want to read this series I recommend going that route.

The story begins in March 1793 as Louis XVI has been beheaded, Marie Antoinette and her children are imprisoned and the Committee for Public Safety has unleashed The Reign of Terror. Unaware of a curfew, a young woman is stopped by members of the National Guard but saved from arrest by Civic Guard officer Maurice Lindey. The woman disappears into the night but the enchanted Maurice finally locates her, and becomes friends with Genevieve and her older husband (who finds Maurice to be useful in his royalist plots). In the meantime, all Paris is abuzz over the mysterious Chevalier de Maison Rouge and his heroic attempts to secrete Marie Antoinette away from her fate with the guillotine.

The story then goes back and forth between that of Maurice and his beloved Genevieve and a recounting of the final days of Marie (now called Madame Capet) and the various schemes of several royalist parties to save her. Although I did enjoy this book very much (it _is_ Dumas), this one just didn’t come off with the excitement and flare the previous six have done. Perhaps after six books I was approaching burn out, perhaps it’s because there was no sign of my favorite characters from the first five books, but this one just didn’t knock my socks off — although I very much enjoyed the love story between Genevieve and Maurice. They were very touching and I doubt I’ll ever look at a carnation the same way again. Have the tissue handy for the ending.

I do want to caution potential readers of this series to research carefully which edition you purchase — there are some bad translations out there that can seriously impact your reading experience. The best luck I’ve had is with the early 1900’s translations published by a P F Collier and Sons. The entire series, in order:

Joseph Balsamo
Memoirs of a Physician
The Queen’s Necklace
Taking the Bastile
The Countess de Charny
The Chevalier de Maison Rouge (or The Knight of the Maison-Rouge)

I have been told that The Chevalier de Maison Rouge was written first and then Dumas was contracted to backtrack and write a series. The characters from the first five books are not in this last one so it is likely true.

The Countess De Charny by Alexandre Dumas

Tags

alexandre dumas, france, french revolution, historical fiction

 Why no cover? Because most of the newer editions of this series are questionable translations and a bad translation = a mediocre Dumas novel. There are libraries that have the 100 year old editions and if you want to read this series I recommend going that route.

The Countess de Charny begins where Taking the Bastile leaves off after the attack on Versailles and the Royal family is “escorted” back to Paris by that same mob and are installed in residence at the Tuileries Palace, while the various factions of the National Assembly sort out the politics and fate of the Royal Family going forward. Gilbert returns as a royalist trying to keep Louis on the throne, albeit without absolute power, and the ever mysterious Count Cagliostro (formerly known as Balsamo) plots with the Freemasons to manipulate the revolution to a higher level. Also returning is the beauteous Andrée who shares a secret with Gilbert that promises to destroy the happiness she and de Charny are finally on the verge of finding (I did not see that one coming!!) and Marie Antoinette (who loves de Charny) is happy to use Andrée’s secret to keep the two lovers apart.

Much of the book details known history as Louis attempts to take his family out of the country to safety, their ultimate capture and return to Paris, as Dumas weaves his fictional characters and their lives amongst those of Louis, his court and the battling factions of the National Assembly. From a secret meeting with the Freemasons as the Duc d’Orleans is sworn into membership and plots against the crown, to Dr. Guillotin’s tests on his “humane” invention on life size models (very creepy), to the angry mobs of Paris, to the battling parties of the National Assembly Dumas takes the reader on a fascinating journey leading up to the final horror of the revolution as The Terror begins in the sixth and last book in the series, The Chevalier De Maison Rouge a Tale of the Reign of Terror. Some readers might find parts of this a bit slower paced as it’s more a retelling of history and not too much action, but I loved every minute of it.

Note — there are several newer publications out there that may or may not be good translations. With one exception, The Queen’s Necklace (a disappointing read due to bad translation), I’ve stuck to the early 1900’s version published by a PF Collier and Sons. If you are interested in reading this series I recommend you stick with those. I had no problems getting copies of my via the library and they are available used online at a reasonable price.

Taking the Bastile by Alexandre Dumas

Tags

alexandre dumas, france, french revolution, historical fiction

Why no cover? Because most of the newer editions of this series are questionable translations and a bad translation = a mediocre Dumas novel. There are libraries that have the 100 year old editions and if you want to read this series I recommend going that route.

 

“I have no longer a horror of others – I fear I may resemble them”

“There are moments when the destiny of a whole nation is being weighed in the scales of Fate. One of them weighs down the other. Everyone already thinks he has attained the proposed end. Suddenly some invisible hand lets fall into the other scale the blade of a poniard or a pistol-ball. Then all changes, and one only cry is heard, Woe to the vanquished!”

Wow. It was paragraphs like that that just knocked my socks off. I always knew Dumas was brilliant, but he really outdoes himself in this book. Taking the Bastile is the fourth in Dumas’ six book series retelling the French Revolution and begins several years after the close of The Queen’s Necklace. The first third of the book retells the events leading up to and including the storming of the Bastile through the POV of Ange Pitou a young orphan from the countryside and his comrade in arms the farmer Billot. Agents of the French government remove papers from Billot’s farm that he is storing for Dr. Gilbert, which sends he and Pitou to Paris to advise the doctor of the theft. They find Gilbert (yes, our young Gilbert from the first two books) imprisoned in the Bastile and are swept up with the rest of the city on that fateful day when all Paris attacks and destroys that symbol of tyranny.

Gilbert is rescued and discovers that the person who ordered his imprisonment is the Countess de Charny, a name he does not recognize and goes to Versailles in search of answers. Presented to Louis XVI as a doctor of renown (being a pupil of Balsamo in the mystic arts), Gilbert discovers that the countess is the beauteous Andrée whom he loved as a young boy. Andrée denies any knowledge of Gilbert or his imprisonment until Gilbert uses his magnetic powers and hypnotizes her (very creepy) to gain the truth — there was an incident in the second book where Andrée had been compromised by Balsamo and Gilbert and she feared exposure and scandal.

As Andrée recovers from Gilbert’s ministrations we see that she is in love with her husband the Count de Charny, who loves the Queen (who returns his love), to Andrée’s great sorrow. The story then switches back and forth between the actions at the court of Louis XVI and the growing violence and restlessness of the Paris mobs as Dumas recounts the events leading up to the Women’s March on Versailles demanding bread and the subsequent mob storming the palace sending the royal family on a mad dash for safety (unputdownable!). The final 100 or so pages of the book detail Ange Pitou’s return to his country village and the logistics of how the villagers were converted from the mindset of being simple farmers working for a living to the rationale of the revolutionary and setting up a local national guard.

That’s about as much of the plot as I’m going to try and detail, the bulk of the book is known history as Dumas recounts the terror of the revolution from all walks of life in late 18C France, the countryman, the farmer, the Church, the Paris citizens and the royal court of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette. Some readers may find a slow spot here and there at the beginning and end of the book, but other than that I found it quite unputdownable. Next up in the series, The Countess de Charny.

Side note, there are several newly published versions of these books and some are poorly translated — one of those being The Queen’s Necklace (published by Wildside) which I had purchased prior to realizing this was a series, and I found the quality of the story sorely lacked from that bad translation. Dumas with a mediocre story and boring dialogue? Not on your life. The other three I obtained very old copies published by PF Collier and Sons in the early 1900’s and I strongly urge you to seek those out either via library or used (around $7), and I’ll be sticking with that for the last two books in the series.

The Queen’s Necklace ~ Alexandre Dumas

Tags

alexandre dumas, france, french revolution, historical fiction

A mediocre translation or was Dumas having a bad-book day? *Review for Wildside Press Edition*

Inquiring minds want to know, although I’m going to lean towards the former. The Queen’s Necklace begins ten years after the close of Memoirs of a Physician, as France recovers from the grips of a deadly winter and Marie Antoinette takes pity on Jeanne de Valois who claims to be descended from the Valois side of the monarchy, albeit from the wrong side of the blanket. Jeanne soon takes up with Cardinal de Rohan who in an effort to ingratiate himself at court offers the stunning necklace originally intended as a gift for the infamous Madame du Barry to the Queen. Thus begins Dumas’ take on the well known “Affair of the Diamond Necklace” which scandalized France and further degraded public opinion of the monarchy.

Dumas brings characters from the first two books into this story, as the mysterious Balsamo reappears under the new name of Count Cagliostro, Andrée resides at court in service to Marie and falls in love with the Count de Charny (who loves the Queen) and Philip (called Philippe in this book) returns from America and also finds himself madly in love with the Queen. Andrée’s former servant Nicole (who bears a striking resemblance to the Queen) now goes by the name of Oliva and is drawn into Jeane’s schemes as she masquerades as the Queen setting off further scandals, and eventually Marie and de Charny are caught in a compromising position which leads to a drastic ploy by Marie to save both herself and de Charny. Will this ploy fulfill the secret desire of our heroine Andrée, or does a twist of fate forever change her happiness to great sorrow? I’ll never tell, but that was one heck of a plot twist!

Unfortunately, what should have been a ripping good read was ruined by a dreadful translation. I’ve read many works of Dumas and his storylines always move quickly with plentiful action and sparkling dialogue and displays the foibles and machinations of the French Monarchy to perfection. This book was stilted, slow paced with some of the most un-Dumas like dialogue I’ve ever come across. Worse yet, since most chapters were 3-4 pages long (this from an author who was paid by the word!!??) and from comparing the page count of this version (329) to that of another (432) I’m guessing quite a bit of the story was left out, and frankly I would have bailed on the book except for the fact that I intend to read the rest of the series and didn’t want to lose the story. The first two in the series of six I’ve read were much older publications, published in the early 1900’s by P.F. Collier and Son. If you are interested in reading the entire series I recommend you check your library and/or shop the online used sellers for one of those copies. Next up in the series, Taking the Bastile.

I do want to note that this review is for the Wildside Press edition and my comments about translation problems should not be reflected against other publishers of this book. I’m stating this as I notice that any reviews posted for one version of this book are showing up on others, and I suspect my review will show up on those editions as well.

Memoirs of a Physician by Alexandre Dumas

Tags

alexandre dumas, french revolution, historical fiction

Why no cover? Because most of the newer editions of this series are questionable translations and a bad translation = a mediocre Dumas novel. There are libraries that have the 100 year old editions and if you want to read this series I recommend going that route.

Dumas Rocks! But doesn’t he always?

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.

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.

Joseph Balsamo by Alexandre Dumas

Tags

alexandre dumas, france, french revolution, historical fiction

Why no cover? Because most of the newer editions of this series are questionable translations and a bad translation = a mediocre Dumas novel. There are libraries that have the 100 year old editions and if you want to read this series I recommend going that route.

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.