1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy Vie Wilson and I'm Polly Fry. Earlier we 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,640 Speaker 1: talked about General Tomat Alexandre Dumat, who was the son 5 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: of an aristocrat and an enslaved woman from the French 6 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:26,639 Speaker 1: colony of Sandoman, which is now Haiti. One of his 7 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: children was Alexandre Duma, known today as Alexandre Duma Pair 8 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: to distinguish him from his own son, who also had 9 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: the same name, because we wanted to be really confusing 10 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: with this trio of men in this family. Alexander dumat Pair, 11 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: of course, wrote such classics as the Three Musketeers in 12 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: the Count of Monte Cristo and both of those words 13 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: sequels and eight Marie Antoinette romances, and a bunch of 14 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: other novels, in plays and essays and travel books and memoirs, 15 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: and a dictionary of cuisine, hundreds and hundreds of works. 16 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,320 Speaker 1: The man was prolific. He did so much and so 17 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: much happened in his life that it's really impossible to 18 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: do justice to every single aspect of it. In one 19 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: episode of the show and having multiple episodes seemed like 20 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: it was getting super excessive in terms of the Dumat family. 21 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,759 Speaker 1: So today we're going to talk about the upbringing that 22 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:24,399 Speaker 1: led Alexander Duma to become the writer that he was, 23 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: along with some of the highlights and themes of his 24 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: later life at work in my head, I'm now like, oh, 25 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: you should we should start a podcast just called Duma 26 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: and it's just their family and all of its all 27 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: of its high drama and fascinating twists and turns. So 28 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: Alexander Duma was born on July two in the town 29 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: of vie Coutrey in northern France. His father, as we 30 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: just said, was General Alex Duma. His mother was Marie 31 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: Louise Elizabeth le Bay, daughter of an innkeeper, and the 32 00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: two of them meant when Alex was billeted at that 33 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: ending the French Revolution. Alexandla had one surviving older sister 34 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: and another who died before he was born. According to 35 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: his father, he weighed ten and a half pounds and 36 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: was eighteen inches long at birth. Duma's childhood was quite difficult. 37 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: Although his father had been in command of huge parts 38 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: of the French military, which we talked about in that 39 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: previous episode. He had fallen out of favor with Napoleon 40 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: long before being captured and imprisoned in a dungeon in 41 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: Naples for nearly two years. Once he was released, he 42 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 1: was injured and ill, and he still couldn't collect a 43 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: pension or back pay, so the family fell into poverty. 44 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: Alexandra spent his early childhood in the company of his father, 45 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: who regained some of his former health but not enough 46 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: to return to active duty. He heard all kinds of 47 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: stories about his father's dramatic exploits in the army. Alex 48 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: Duma had also been fond of performing various feats of strength, 49 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: some of which he could still manage, and young Alexandla 50 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: was fascinated them. His father had been a war hero 51 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: and one of the most prominent men of color in 52 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: the French military, but Alexander was perception of him went 53 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: even beyond that, into someone who was larger than life 54 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,920 Speaker 1: and almost mythic. Do I describe it this way quote 55 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 1: I adored my father, Perhaps at so early an age, 56 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: the feeling which today I call love was only a 57 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: naive astonishment at that herculean stature and that gigantic strength 58 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: I'd seen him display on so many occasions. Perhaps it 59 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: was nothing more than a childish pride and admiration. But 60 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: in spite of all that, even today, the memory of 61 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: my father, in every detail of his body, in every 62 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: feature of his face, is as present to me as 63 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: if I had lost him yesterday. Alex Duma died on 64 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: February eighteen o six, probably from stomach cancer. Alexandla was 65 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: approaching his fourth birthday, and as his father's condition worsened, 66 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: his mother sent him to spend the night with cousins 67 00:03:57,640 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: who lived nearby so that he would not be traumata 68 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: eis if his father died during the night. On the 69 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: night of his father's death, Alexandla woke his cousins and 70 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: told them he was going to go open the door 71 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: for his father, who had come to say goodbye. In 72 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: the morning, when he was told that God had taken 73 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: his father to heaven, Alexandra answered that he was going 74 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: to go to heaven himself for revenge. With his mother, 75 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: a widow without much to live on, Alexandra had very 76 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,479 Speaker 1: little structure to his childhood. Marie Louise tried to scare 77 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 1: a widow's pension and was so persistent about it that 78 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,600 Speaker 1: Napoleon Bonaparte finally told the general who had been bringing 79 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: it up with him on her their behalf quote, I 80 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: forbid you to ever mention that fellow to meet again. 81 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: So Alexandra's mother spent her time working to try to 82 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:46,720 Speaker 1: make ends meet and to pay for his older sister's education. 83 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,600 Speaker 1: Alexandl briefly spent some time enrolled at a private school, 84 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: and his sister would teach him while she was home 85 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,919 Speaker 1: on school breaks, but beyond that, in his early years, 86 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: Alexandla didn't have much formal education. He loved to read, 87 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:02,279 Speaker 1: and he loved to talk about what he read, and 88 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: he took a few years of violin lessons that he 89 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: said left him not even able to tune the instrument. Occasionally, 90 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: his mother tried to enroll him in a school or seminary, 91 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: but this never lasted very long, with Alexander running away 92 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,479 Speaker 1: or refusing to go back more often than not. In 93 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: eighteen fourteen, when Alexandra was twelve, his mother finally got 94 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 1: access to a widow's pension and use it to open 95 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: a tobacco shop. A year later, he managed to catch 96 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:32,480 Speaker 1: a glimpse of Napoleon Bonaparte in person. Dama described seeing 97 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:35,840 Speaker 1: him pass through town both before and after the Battle 98 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: of Waterloo in eighteen fifteen, which was of course pivotal. 99 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: He wrote, quote, I confess I had an intense desire 100 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: to see this man, who, in making his heavy hand 101 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 1: felt throughout France, had in a peculiarly hard fashion, ground 102 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: down a poor adam like myself, lost among thirty two 103 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:58,600 Speaker 1: millions of human beings, whom he continued to crush while 104 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:03,919 Speaker 1: forgetting my very existence. In eighteen sixteen, Alexandla meant two 105 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: other young men who would start him on the path 106 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: to becoming a writer. One was adult Ribbing Deluvin, the 107 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: son of a Swedish nobleman who moved into the area 108 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: around Ville, Cotterrey. The other was Amade de la Pance, 109 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: who was an officer and adults, wanted to be a 110 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: playwright and had connections to the theater scene in Paris, Amada, 111 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: New German and Italian, and offered to teach Duma these 112 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: languages in his spare time. Although Alexander didn't have a 113 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:33,679 Speaker 1: lot of schooling, he did have very neat and almost 114 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: flowery handwriting, which let him get an apprenticeship with a 115 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,479 Speaker 1: notary in eighteen eighteen, he did a lot of errands. 116 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: He copied documents by hand. It was a job that 117 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: he described as intolerable if he had had to pay 118 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:47,840 Speaker 1: attention to what he was copying. But since he could 119 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,840 Speaker 1: copy without thinking about the words themselves, he was free 120 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:53,279 Speaker 1: to just let his mind wander. This job was what 121 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: allowed Duma to take his first trip to a Paris theater. 122 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: A client gave him and his fellow clerks a gratuity, 123 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:02,359 Speaker 1: and they decided to go in together and catch a 124 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,600 Speaker 1: very early stagecoach to Paris. There they saw an adaptation 125 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: of Hamlet by Jean franc This was a formative experience 126 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: in Duma's life. He came home in a state of amazement, 127 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 1: and he wrote to the theater to send a copy 128 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: of the play so he could study it over and over. 129 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: For the next few years, Duma's life was very much 130 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: the same. He did some studying, he hung out with 131 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: his friends, he worked for the notary, and he started 132 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: trying his hand at writing his own poems and plays. 133 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: He also pursued various young women along vehicle Tree. His 134 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: father had always been described as exceptionally handsome, and the 135 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: same was true of the young Alexandra, who had blue eyes, 136 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: relatively fair skin, and hair that he called mule fuy 137 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: tropical or my tropical tangle. He was also, by his 138 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: own admission, very vain, and by everyone else's admission, he 139 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: was extremely popular with women. The biggest detriment to all 140 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 1: of this in his youth was that the family had 141 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 1: so little money that his clothing tended to be too 142 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: small and in pretty poor repair, and that made him 143 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 1: the target for mockery among the more mean spirited of them. 144 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: During these years, Napoleon, who had been at the root 145 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: of so many problems for the Duma family, was forced 146 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: off the imperial throne of France, exiled, returned from exile, 147 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: and exiled again, before dying in British custody on the 148 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: island of St. Helena on May five. But apart from 149 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: that one sighting of Napoleon in eighteen fifteen, Duma felt 150 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,560 Speaker 1: fairly removed from what was happening on the national stage. Eventually, 151 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: Duma started trying to make his way to Paris on 152 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 1: a more regular basis. He thought if he could just 153 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: get to the city, he might be able to earn 154 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 1: enough money to support himself and his mother and we 155 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: will talk about how he got there after a sponsor break. 156 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 1: As I noted, before the break in the early eighteen twenties, 157 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: Alexander Duma made up his mind to start visiting Paris 158 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: as often as he could, with the mind to eventually 159 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: moving there, But he really had to scrounge for money 160 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: to make these trips. On one occasion, he and a 161 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:12,559 Speaker 1: friend went together hunting rabbits and partridges along the way 162 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 1: so that they could sell them once they got to 163 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,599 Speaker 1: Paris and pay for their food and lodging. This required 164 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: the two of them to outsmart the gamekeepers who were 165 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 1: in charge of the land that they were illegally hunting on. 166 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:26,319 Speaker 1: They only had one horse between them, so one had 167 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 1: the gun and the other state on the horse to 168 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: take the quarry and ride off with it before the 169 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: games keeper could follow the sound of the shot and 170 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: find them. They did make it to Parison back, but 171 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:39,439 Speaker 1: Duma got fired from a new notary job that he'd 172 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: gotten just a few months before. He had taken this 173 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: trip while his boss was away, planning to go and 174 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: return without him knowing, but instead his boss got back 175 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 1: a few hours before he did. I feel like that's 176 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: a classic sitcom scenario yet playing out in the early 177 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds in France. Yeah, this is one of the 178 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: many things, like so many things that just sound like 179 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: this could be a little scene from one of his books. 180 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 1: After his mother sold some property to settle the family's debts, 181 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 1: Duma convinced her to let him sell some engravings that 182 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 1: his father had brought home while serving in the military, 183 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 1: and then, according to his memboir, he tried to build 184 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,560 Speaker 1: on the fifty francs that he had gotten for these engravings. 185 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:21,120 Speaker 1: He took his money to the local coffee house and 186 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 1: started playing billiards against a family friend named Monsieur Cartier, 187 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 1: with the loser buying the winner two glasses of absinthe. 188 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: They weren't drinking the absence, They were just using this 189 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,400 Speaker 1: to basically keep score. They kept doubling their bets over 190 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: the course of five hours, until according to Juma, he 191 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:43,560 Speaker 1: had won six hundred glasses of absinthe that was worth 192 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 1: about ninety francs, which he took in lieu of all 193 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:48,280 Speaker 1: that alcohol. I don't know, there's something, you know, you 194 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:52,559 Speaker 1: could have done a split payment that was uh, that 195 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:55,440 Speaker 1: was enough to pay for about a dozen round trip 196 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: tickets to Paris, and Duma made frequent trips back and 197 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: forth before moving there in eighty three. He had few 198 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:05,839 Speaker 1: resources when he got there, though. His biggest asset was 199 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:08,400 Speaker 1: a collection of letters of introduction that his mother had 200 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,680 Speaker 1: written to various old friends and military buddies of his 201 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:16,959 Speaker 1: late father, and one of these was General Maximilian Sebastian Foy. 202 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:20,240 Speaker 1: Foy wanted to help, but he very quickly figured out 203 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:22,600 Speaker 1: that Duma really did not know how to do anything. 204 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:26,560 Speaker 1: His haphazard schooling and his self study, which he wasn't 205 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:29,079 Speaker 1: all that dedicated with, had left him without a working 206 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 1: knowledge of almost any subject, and his ample slacking off 207 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,079 Speaker 1: at the notary jobs he'd had had left him without 208 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 1: any practical skills there either. His one strong point was 209 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 1: that very attractive, ornate handwriting. This really brought it home 210 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: for Duma that he had been wasting his youth. After 211 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 1: seeing Foy's reaction to finally figuring out one thing he 212 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:53,560 Speaker 1: could do, that thing being right neatly, he said, quote, 213 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:57,319 Speaker 1: my head fell on my breast. My shame was insupportable. 214 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:01,400 Speaker 1: The only thing I possessed was good hand writing. This 215 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:06,439 Speaker 1: diploma of incapacity well became me a beautiful handwriting, so 216 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 1: someday I might become a copying clerk. This was my future. 217 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 1: I would rather cut off my right arm. Fortunately, though, 218 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: the General did know somebody in a very high position 219 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:21,200 Speaker 1: who needed a clerk. That was the Duke door Leone, 220 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:25,080 Speaker 1: who would later become King Louis Philippe. But in a 221 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:28,000 Speaker 1: way this really added insult to injury, because not only 222 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: was Duma's only job skill this good handwriting, but the 223 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: people back home were astonished that he had managed to 224 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:37,880 Speaker 1: find a position with a Duke, of all people, after 225 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: spending all those years not particularly applying himself to anything. 226 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:44,400 Speaker 1: So not only did he have a job he didn't want, 227 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 1: people were shocked that he had gotten it. He consoled 228 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:49,959 Speaker 1: himself with the fact that now at least he had 229 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: a salary of twelve francs. Of course, his ambition was 230 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 1: not to be a copyist, even if it was the 231 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:00,200 Speaker 1: copyist for a duke. Fortunately, though, one of his supervisors 232 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,600 Speaker 1: was sympathetic to his ambitions of becoming a playwright and 233 00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:06,200 Speaker 1: advised him on a course of self study and a 234 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: focus for his creative work. His supervisor's advice study the 235 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,640 Speaker 1: history of France, which in his opinion wasn't getting nearly 236 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:17,440 Speaker 1: enough attention in the world of French literature and theater, 237 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:21,400 Speaker 1: and then write about that. Through this advice and this 238 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 1: recommended course of self study, Duma came up with a 239 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: goal for himself. He wanted to do for France what 240 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,880 Speaker 1: Sir Walter Scott had done for Scotland. He was particularly 241 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:35,320 Speaker 1: inspired by Scott's Waverley novels, which include Ivanhoe and Rob 242 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:39,080 Speaker 1: Roy along with twenty others. Those books were a major 243 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: milestone in the development of historical fiction as a genre 244 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 1: in European literature, and so that's what Doma set his 245 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:50,200 Speaker 1: mind on doing, writing historical fiction set in France and 246 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 1: making that popular with the French public. At first, though 247 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: his focus was really on writing this historical fiction through 248 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 1: plays and not novels. Duma went to the theater as 249 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:04,200 Speaker 1: often as he could and embarked on a study of 250 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: classic works of literature, including during downtime at work. He 251 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: started making friends with notable people in the literary, theatrical 252 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 1: and artistic circles of Paris, including people like Charnaudier, who 253 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 1: was connected to numerous writers in the French Romantic movement, 254 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:23,360 Speaker 1: and Victor Hugo author of Les Miserab and The Hunchback 255 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,960 Speaker 1: of Notre Dame, and Duma started a relationship with a 256 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 1: young woman named Marie Catherine la Bay, with whom he 257 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 1: had a son, who was also named Alexandra, on July four. 258 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,040 Speaker 1: The two of them never married, but Doma paid for 259 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 1: their lodging and visited them often as after their romantic 260 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,840 Speaker 1: relationship ended. Sama also started selling short comic sketches to 261 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:48,240 Speaker 1: theaters to earn some extra money to try to keep 262 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,200 Speaker 1: the mall afloat. His first serious attempt at a play 263 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:55,160 Speaker 1: was called Christine and was about previous podcast subject Christina 264 00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 1: of Sweden. He submitted it to a theater company which 265 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 1: accepted it, but even after a long series of revisions, 266 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 1: they didn't ultimately perform it. Instead, Duma's first full length 267 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: play to be staged was Henri the Third and His Court, 268 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:14,239 Speaker 1: which debuted on February eleven nine at the Comedy Francaise, 269 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 1: which was one of France's state theaters. Just a few 270 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 1: days before the play's debut, Duma's mother had a stroke, 271 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 1: so he had to divide his time between the theater 272 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 1: and her bedside, including stepping out of the theater to 273 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 1: go check on her during that first performance. Just before 274 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 1: the play opened, he also invited the Duke d'artillon, who 275 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:38,120 Speaker 1: politely declined, saying that he had another engagement. Duma convinced 276 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 1: the Duke to come and to bring his whole retinue 277 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: with him. A lot of Duma's friends were also there, 278 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: including Victor Hugo. Possibly helped by having so many people 279 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,520 Speaker 1: who knew and liked in the audience, the reception was 280 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 1: overall extremely positive. There was a lot of loud applause 281 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:58,880 Speaker 1: in the theater and generally pretty favorable reviews afterward, and 282 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: this performance has been cited as the start of a 283 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: shift in French theater away from the classical and toward 284 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:08,640 Speaker 1: the romantic, with the play itself a drama rather than 285 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 1: a classic tragedy. But of course the acclaim was not universal. 286 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: A number of more classically minded established playwrights objected to 287 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 1: its more romantic sensibilities and staging, and the fact that 288 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: it was melodramatic instead of tragic. Some of these playwrights 289 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: circulated a petition denouncing the theater's management for allowing such 290 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 1: a play to be staged, and advocating that France not 291 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,240 Speaker 1: allow such work to be performed at any of its 292 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 1: national theaters on Red. The third was also criticized for 293 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: being against the monarchy, and it spawned a huge debate 294 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: about censorship. This was the first of many, many plays 295 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 1: and a career that was truly prolific, and did involve 296 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:53,040 Speaker 1: a staging of Christine not long after, but almost immediately, 297 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,360 Speaker 1: Douma's output slowed down just a little as he became 298 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: a revolutionary. We will talk about that after a quick 299 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:10,679 Speaker 1: sponsor break. In addition to writing and co writing a 300 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: massive amount of work during his lifetime, Alexandre Duma was, 301 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 1: like his father, a revolutionary, although not on the exact 302 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:20,760 Speaker 1: same scale as his father. So my Alexandre Duma had 303 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:24,679 Speaker 1: been firmly on the liberty, equality, fraternity side of the 304 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: French Revolution and was a staunch defender of the French Republic. 305 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: Do I have many of these same leanings which came 306 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 1: to the four in eighteen thirty. The July Revolution or 307 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:38,640 Speaker 1: the Revolution of eighteen thirty was one of a series 308 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: of revolutions that swept through Europe between eighteen thirty and 309 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty two. In France, it was in response to 310 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,879 Speaker 1: a series of ordinances issued by King Charles the tenth. 311 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 1: In these ordinances, the king dissolved the Chamber of Deputies 312 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: and called for new elections to be held in September. 313 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:57,960 Speaker 1: But he also changed the laws so that most of 314 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,680 Speaker 1: the electorate lost their right to vote, and he suspended 315 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:04,439 Speaker 1: the freedom of the press. People were, of course very 316 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:06,919 Speaker 1: upset by this. Duma had been on the verge of 317 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: leaving for a trip to Algier, which France had just 318 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:13,240 Speaker 1: annexed when these four ordinances were issued, so instead of 319 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 1: going on his trip, he sent his servant to retrieve 320 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,879 Speaker 1: his gun from the gunsmiths and to buy him some ammunition, 321 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:22,159 Speaker 1: and then, as the revolution grew more violent, he joined 322 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: the demonstrators at the barricades after hearing the Marquis de Lafayette, 323 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:29,439 Speaker 1: who has been name dropped in so many podcasts at 324 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 1: this point I can't even keep up after hearing him 325 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,680 Speaker 1: say that they did not have enough ammunition. Duma also 326 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:37,679 Speaker 1: planned and helped carry out a successful powder raid at 327 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,760 Speaker 1: the magazine at Soissant. The fighting went on from July 328 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:45,119 Speaker 1: to the twenty ninth, after which Charles abdicated and his 329 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,800 Speaker 1: successor was King Louis Philippe former Duke door Leon, described 330 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: as the King of the French rather than the King 331 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 1: of France, but Duma's prior relationship with the king did 332 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: not serve him well. The King told him to stick 333 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 1: to poetry, not politics, and Duma abutted that a poet's 334 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:05,199 Speaker 1: point of view could be prophetic. Louis Philippe abruptly dismissed him, 335 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:07,800 Speaker 1: and Duma resigned his position at the library of the 336 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 1: Palais Royal, where Louis Philippe had appointed him while still 337 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:15,000 Speaker 1: a duke. A similar series of revolutions took place in 338 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:18,720 Speaker 1: eighteen forty eight, which overthrew Louis Philippe. Duma was part 339 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: of this uprising two and then afterward he tried unsuccessfully 340 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: to run for parliament to return to the eighteen thirties, 341 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 1: though on March five, eighteen thirty one, Duma and Belle 342 00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:33,400 Speaker 1: Samy had a daughter together, who they named Marie Alexandrine. 343 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:35,920 Speaker 1: The next year, he took a trip to Switzerland, and 344 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,639 Speaker 1: he published a travelog from his time there in eighteen 345 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:42,560 Speaker 1: thirty three. This was the first of many travels, sometimes 346 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:46,760 Speaker 1: for pleasure, but often to escape criticism political disputes. The 347 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,679 Speaker 1: ire of the monarch or debt deah. One of the 348 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,239 Speaker 1: articles that I read. Leading after this was basically like 349 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:57,160 Speaker 1: when the going got tough, Touma left. In the eighteen thirties, 350 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: he started experimenting with writing stories and novels rather than 351 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: just plays, and in eighteen thirty six, a new development 352 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 1: in the world of publishing really shifted what he was doing. 353 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: Until that point, newspapers in France had sold annual subscriptions, 354 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,639 Speaker 1: but that year a paper called La Press started selling 355 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:18,280 Speaker 1: individual issues, and with individual issue sales came the opportunity 356 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: for serialized novels that were published one bit at a time, 357 00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:25,719 Speaker 1: from one issue to the next, something we're familiar with 358 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:29,879 Speaker 1: today that at the time was truly groundbreaking. This was 359 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:34,000 Speaker 1: hugely successful, both for Duma and for the newspaper. He 360 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:37,600 Speaker 1: started writing novels that would be published serially, with installments 361 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:41,159 Speaker 1: ending with cliffhangers to encourage people to buy the next issue. 362 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: Other publications and writers started following the same model. Serialized 363 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 1: writing drove a dramatic increase in newspaper sales, and that 364 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:55,120 Speaker 1: increase lasted for decades. In eighteen forty, Duma married Ida Ferrier. 365 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:57,960 Speaker 1: They would be together for about the next four years, 366 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:00,480 Speaker 1: and they spent most of that time living in Florence 367 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,880 Speaker 1: because it was cheaper than Paris. Many of Duma's most 368 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: famous works were written between eighteen forty four and eighteen 369 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:10,359 Speaker 1: fifty four, including The Three Musketeers and The Count of 370 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 1: Monte Cristo. This was his most prolific decade as a writer, 371 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:17,280 Speaker 1: with most of the work featuring exciting stories full of 372 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: heroic characters that play out against a backdrop of French history. 373 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: His massive output during this time was not solely his 374 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,719 Speaker 1: own work, though he had researchers and collaborators who were 375 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: part of it as well. They would often sketch out 376 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 1: the book's outline while Duma filled in all the details 377 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: and the dialogue, or they would provide background research. The 378 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,440 Speaker 1: most well known of these was Auguste Maquette, who took 379 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,600 Speaker 1: Duma to court in eighteen fifty six and eighteen fifty eight, 380 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: claiming that his contributions to eighteen of Dumas novels was 381 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:52,119 Speaker 1: significant enough that he should be listed as the co author. 382 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:56,159 Speaker 1: While the court did order Duma to pay Maket some 383 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:58,959 Speaker 1: of the money that he was owed, they left the 384 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,800 Speaker 1: attribution of the books as it was. There is still 385 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:06,440 Speaker 1: a lack of consensus of like how much actual work 386 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:11,120 Speaker 1: these various assistants were doing. Alexandra la Dumont's success led 387 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 1: to ongoing problems with money. He was making an enormous 388 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: income for the time. The average workers pay when he 389 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:20,679 Speaker 1: was living was about three francs a day, but some 390 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:24,119 Speaker 1: years Dumont was making more than eighty thousand francs. But 391 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:28,119 Speaker 1: he spent lavishly and often without any kind of workable plan. 392 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:31,920 Speaker 1: He launched two different newspapers, both of which leader folded. 393 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:35,760 Speaker 1: He started construction on Chateau de Monte Cristo in eighteen 394 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:38,320 Speaker 1: forty six, and when he ran out of money, that 395 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 1: was sold at auction. In eighteen forty seven, he opened 396 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:45,879 Speaker 1: the Teakla Historique in Paris, which was bankrupt within three years, 397 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,560 Speaker 1: leading him to be prosecuted for his debts. He fled 398 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 1: to Belgium and then Russia and then Cecily, and then 399 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:57,520 Speaker 1: back to Paris to finally settle his bankruptcy. His travels 400 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:00,280 Speaker 1: and his spending habits did not stop there, though. In 401 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: the late eighteen fifties he went to England, Germany, Russia 402 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 1: and Italy, and then in eighteen sixty he bought a 403 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,399 Speaker 1: yacht called the Emma and he used that yacht to 404 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 1: follow Giuseppe Garibaldi's expedition of the one thousand and eighteen sixty. 405 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:16,840 Speaker 1: It wasn't just that he was following this expedition in 406 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:19,640 Speaker 1: a yacht. The yacht itself was full of champagne and 407 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: fine food as well, and this made it a huge 408 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 1: and kind of weird disparity between Duma on the yacht 409 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: and the expedition, which had almost no money, almost no training, 410 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,960 Speaker 1: and rusty rifles, but still at the same time managed 411 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,440 Speaker 1: to take down the Bourbon kingdom of the Two Sicilies 412 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:36,879 Speaker 1: in southern Italy. That is a lot to try to 413 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:38,879 Speaker 1: sum up. There is an episode on that in the archive. 414 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:41,440 Speaker 1: I thought about replaying it as a Saturday Classic, but 415 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 1: it is pretty short and I haven't found anything to 416 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:46,439 Speaker 1: pair it with, so you can go find that on 417 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:48,960 Speaker 1: our website if you're interested in learning more about that 418 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: sort of information dump I just had. Also aboard the 419 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,520 Speaker 1: Emma was a woman named Emily Cordier, with whom Duma 420 00:23:55,600 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: had a daughter, michaela clearly Josepha Elizabeth in eight teen sixty. 421 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: So all this together, the spending lots of money, the 422 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,919 Speaker 1: having a number of children with a variety of different women, 423 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: his general behavior. All of that made Duma a frequent 424 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,639 Speaker 1: target of satire and derision, especially as he got older. 425 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:20,920 Speaker 1: Newspaper cartoonists depicted him as this rotund, inept and very 426 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:25,240 Speaker 1: vain person with an increasingly astonishing tangle of hair. Like 427 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,040 Speaker 1: his father, he was fond of dueling, and his critics 428 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: made fun of him for that. Toos with is the 429 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 1: episode on his father. There's part of it. It's like, 430 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,440 Speaker 1: what is wrong with you? Get your act together? Um, 431 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,040 Speaker 1: But also he produced a lot of delightful things, so 432 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:44,840 Speaker 1: it's not my place. Uh. Sometimes these criticisms were totally warranted. 433 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 1: After the expedition of the one thousand, Giuseppe Garibaldi named 434 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 1: Duma the director of excavations and museums. Duma took that 435 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:55,400 Speaker 1: as an opportunity to try to insert himself as an 436 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:59,199 Speaker 1: influencer in Naples, and he was so relentlessly mocked for 437 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 1: it that Garbald they rescinded his appointment after merely a 438 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:06,880 Speaker 1: few days. Historians diverge on the role that racism may 439 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 1: have played in all of this and in Duma's life. Obviously, 440 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: racism existed honorary to Balzac, for example, called Dumont that 441 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:19,119 Speaker 1: negro and these caricatures, as I mentioned earlier, often really 442 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 1: played up things like Duma's hair, which was very distinctive 443 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,840 Speaker 1: and sometimes large. There's also a widely reported anecdote in 444 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: which somebody was disparagingly talking about Duma's race, and he 445 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: walked over to them and said, quote, my father was 446 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,160 Speaker 1: a mulatto, my grandfather was a Negro, and my great 447 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 1: grandfather a monkey. You see, sir, my family starts where 448 00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:46,320 Speaker 1: yours ends. But it wasn't something that Dumont really talked 449 00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:49,439 Speaker 1: about in his own memoirs, and comparatively few of his 450 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:54,080 Speaker 1: works focus on black characters. Most notable is George, which 451 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:56,720 Speaker 1: we talked about in our prior episode, in which the 452 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 1: titular character is described as mulatto and leads us slave uprising. Aljanue, 453 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:04,919 Speaker 1: which is set in the French Revolution, calls for the 454 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 1: abolition of slavery. There's a lot more along the lines 455 00:26:08,359 --> 00:26:12,600 Speaker 1: of general injustice than racism specifically. Earlier in his life, 456 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 1: Dumont had described himself and his process this way, quote, 457 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,160 Speaker 1: my dramatic work and my efforts at historical writing had 458 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,960 Speaker 1: developed two principal qualities, those of dialogue and of narrative. 459 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: And these are qualities which, speaking with my usual frankness 460 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:29,040 Speaker 1: about myself, I may say that I possess in a 461 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:32,200 Speaker 1: superior degree. But at this time I had not yet 462 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:35,520 Speaker 1: discovered the existence of two other qualities, no less important, 463 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:39,880 Speaker 1: lightheartedness and a lively, amusing style. As a rule, people 464 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:42,960 Speaker 1: are cheerful and lighthearted because their digestion is in good 465 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: order and they have nothing to bother them. But in 466 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:49,880 Speaker 1: my case this condition is a persistent one, not indeed 467 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:53,720 Speaker 1: making me insensible to sorrow, which, whether affecting my friends 468 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 1: or myself, moves me deeply, but rendering me proof against 469 00:26:57,119 --> 00:27:00,159 Speaker 1: all the worries, cares, and conflicts of daily life. But 470 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 1: towards the end of his life, Duma was no longer 471 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 1: free from cares and worries. He became increasingly wistful and anxious. 472 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,960 Speaker 1: In eighteen fifty seven, he had a conversation with his 473 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:14,479 Speaker 1: son Alexandla, who found him awake at night. The elder 474 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:17,119 Speaker 1: Alexandler said that his stomach hurt, and that when that 475 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,560 Speaker 1: happened he walked, He said, when it got worse, he read. 476 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:24,040 Speaker 1: The younger Alexandla asked, and what about when it gets 477 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 1: too painful to read, and his father answered, I work. 478 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,760 Speaker 1: In eighteen seventy, at the age of sixty eight, Duma 479 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:33,200 Speaker 1: was broke and he moved in with his son, who 480 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,879 Speaker 1: was now a respected writer in his own right, and 481 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,680 Speaker 1: told him quote, I have come to die in your home. 482 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,919 Speaker 1: He did die on December five of eighteen seventy and 483 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 1: was buried in his hometown of Via Colatree. By the 484 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: time of his death, Duma had not been forgotten, but 485 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 1: he wasn't exactly honored either. During his lifetime, he had 486 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,840 Speaker 1: written at least three hundred works, including Legrand Dixon de Cuisine, 487 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,960 Speaker 1: which was published three years after he died, and his 488 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:01,880 Speaker 1: novels and plays were often adored by the public. They 489 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:05,200 Speaker 1: were popular and commercially successful, but in the eyes of 490 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:09,480 Speaker 1: the academic establishment, they weren't all that worthwhile. His son, 491 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:13,360 Speaker 1: for example, was admitted to the Academy Francaise or French Academy, 492 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:17,800 Speaker 1: while Alexandra dumas Pere never was. His work was considered 493 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:22,359 Speaker 1: too low brow. Today, though several of Duma's works are 494 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,720 Speaker 1: considered among the classics of French literature, and they've been 495 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 1: translated into more than a hundred languages and adapted over 496 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 1: and over and over and over for the stage, TV, radio, 497 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:37,040 Speaker 1: and film. In two thousand two, Duma's body was exhumed 498 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 1: and he was reinterred at the Pantheon in Paris, alongside 499 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 1: people like a Meal Zola and Jean Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, 500 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:48,000 Speaker 1: Victor Hugo, and other notable figures like Louis Braille and 501 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: Marie Curie. At the reburial, there was a parade of 502 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:53,960 Speaker 1: people in costume, and the casket was carried by four 503 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 1: musketeers and covered in a drape that said in French, 504 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,000 Speaker 1: all for one and one for all. French President Jacques 505 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: Charoque described it as quote repaying an injustice which mark 506 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,840 Speaker 1: Duma from childhood, just as it marked the skin of 507 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 1: his slave ancestors. I watched some footage of this on 508 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:17,200 Speaker 1: the internet yesterday. I was surprisingly affected by it. I 509 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:20,600 Speaker 1: don't like, I don't feel the most gigantic emotional attachment 510 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,320 Speaker 1: to the three Musketeers or anything like that. But I 511 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:28,280 Speaker 1: was just watching this funeral procession with Alexandre Duma's casket, 512 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: just bawling at my desk. I totally get that. Yeah, 513 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:34,960 Speaker 1: it choked me up a lot. Uh. This also did 514 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:39,560 Speaker 1: happen over the extremely strong objections of V. A. Caltree. 515 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: They were not happy about exhuming him. They called it 516 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,480 Speaker 1: an insult to his memory. The mayor was kind of like, well, 517 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:49,840 Speaker 1: after I approved this, I realized that I really regret it. 518 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:53,480 Speaker 1: It was very upsetting for the place that he had 519 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,400 Speaker 1: grown up and was originally buried. And the Chateau de 520 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:58,840 Speaker 1: Monte Cristo that we talked about him working on and 521 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 1: not quite finishing, was eventually restored. It is now a museum. 522 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:05,560 Speaker 1: In the late nineteen eighties, a copy of La Chevalier 523 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 1: de Saint Armine, which is the last Cavalier, was unearthed 524 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: at the Bibliothech Nacionale in Paris, and that was published 525 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 1: in two thousand five. Maybe when we are in Paris 526 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: this June, we can go and visit the grave of 527 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 1: Alexandre Duma. I don't know if it will be possible 528 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:26,600 Speaker 1: to go to the museum because that's a little farther 529 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:29,240 Speaker 1: afield from where we will be staying. Yeah, I have 530 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,680 Speaker 1: such a long list already that I'm almost reluctant to 531 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 1: add another thing to it. We have a little bit 532 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 1: of free time in the in the trip outside of 533 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:43,240 Speaker 1: the preset tour schedule um, and I'm scared to keep 534 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:45,400 Speaker 1: adding to it because I think I might be maxed 535 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: out already on the places that I wanted to run 536 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:53,560 Speaker 1: and go. Um. But maybe we'll go to the I 537 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 1: on the other hand, have had a lot going on, 538 00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:59,560 Speaker 1: nothing bad, just a lot going on, um, and so 539 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:02,840 Speaker 1: I have just been like, we're going to Paris in June, 540 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:05,719 Speaker 1: and that is the end of my thought process. I'm 541 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:07,840 Speaker 1: gonna have to look at it in more detail or 542 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,440 Speaker 1: before we, you know, get on a plane. Yeah, I'm 543 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 1: I got I got plans at one one of our 544 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:14,680 Speaker 1: days off. I think some of my friends from London 545 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:16,560 Speaker 1: are going to come over and meet us and hang out. 546 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 1: So nice. Yeah, we have like two days that are 547 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,040 Speaker 1: fairly free, so one of those will work out whichever 548 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:24,760 Speaker 1: works best for them. But there will be much running 549 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:26,920 Speaker 1: around and there's some fabric stores. I got a hit. 550 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 1: And you know, if you're hearing this and you're thinking 551 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:34,920 Speaker 1: trip to Paris, what we are taking a trip to Paris? 552 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:37,320 Speaker 1: Listeners can come with us if you go to our website, 553 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:39,280 Speaker 1: which is missed in history dot Com. Up at the 554 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:42,160 Speaker 1: top menu, there is a link that says Paris trip 555 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:46,080 Speaker 1: exclamation point that's under the little menu icon if you're 556 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 1: on a mobile device, and that will take you to 557 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:49,600 Speaker 1: the page where you can find out all the information 558 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: about it and where you can sign up. We are 559 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:57,080 Speaker 1: both incredibly excited. My lack of planning does not reflect 560 00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 1: my excitement. That has just increasingly become how I travel 561 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:06,280 Speaker 1: is by going, I'll figure it out, have the basic outline, 562 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 1: I'll figure it out. Nothing wrong with that. Yeah. Part 563 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:12,320 Speaker 1: of it is because, um, some of the people that 564 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:14,600 Speaker 1: have decided to go on this trip with us, our 565 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:16,520 Speaker 1: friends of mine, so that we've all been yanking a 566 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: lot about it and where we're going to run off 567 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 1: to at various points in time, and my husband and 568 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:22,520 Speaker 1: I are going to try to get away and do 569 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:25,440 Speaker 1: a date or two while we're there. You know, it's 570 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:27,040 Speaker 1: a lot to pack in, but you don't want to 571 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:32,880 Speaker 1: waste your time. Yeah. When uh, when my husband and 572 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:35,000 Speaker 1: I went on our honeymoon to Iceland a couple of 573 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:39,959 Speaker 1: years ago, we had a list of things that we 574 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:42,959 Speaker 1: wanted to see or do while we were there, and 575 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:45,360 Speaker 1: then we had our lodging worked out in advance for 576 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:47,760 Speaker 1: every night of the trip. But then otherwise we just 577 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 1: sort of left ourselves open to things, which in some 578 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,240 Speaker 1: ways is how this trip has already planned out, because 579 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:55,480 Speaker 1: we have days that are pretty structured in terms of 580 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:57,760 Speaker 1: walking tours and going to Versailles and stuff like that, 581 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:01,080 Speaker 1: and days that are more like explore the city time. Um, 582 00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:03,600 Speaker 1: but that we enjoyed that trip so much that it's 583 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:05,680 Speaker 1: become sort of the template of how we travel now. 584 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,880 Speaker 1: Perfect Perfect. Do you have a listener mail, I sure do. 585 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:13,840 Speaker 1: This goes back to our episode on the Regulator War. 586 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:16,560 Speaker 1: It is from Lisa. Lisa says, I just listened to 587 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:18,640 Speaker 1: the podcast on the Regulator War and I wanted to 588 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:21,640 Speaker 1: share a little historical tidbit related to it. I went 589 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:24,680 Speaker 1: to college at Elon University, which is in Alamance County 590 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:27,760 Speaker 1: and just down the road from Alamance Battleground Historical Site. 591 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:30,480 Speaker 1: Today there's a small historical exhibit about the event on 592 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:32,360 Speaker 1: the property, which I went to visit when I was 593 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:34,760 Speaker 1: living in the area. And the podcast you mentioned that 594 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:37,720 Speaker 1: some people argue that this event influenced the American Revolution 595 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:41,560 Speaker 1: due to the similarities between their causes, and this is 596 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:44,200 Speaker 1: very much the opinion of the staff at the historical site. 597 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:45,960 Speaker 1: When I told him I was from out of state. 598 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,760 Speaker 1: They asked if I was from Massachusetts. I said no, 599 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:52,040 Speaker 1: and then they proceeded to explain that they view this 600 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:54,720 Speaker 1: battle as the first battle of the American Revolution, not 601 00:33:54,880 --> 00:33:59,160 Speaker 1: Lexington or Concord. Unsurprisingly, visitors from Massachusetts did not like 602 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 1: this particular interpretation. Thanks for the interesting podcasts, Lisa. Thank 603 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:07,080 Speaker 1: you Lisa for writing us this email. One of the 604 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:10,080 Speaker 1: things that I uncovered when I was working on that 605 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:12,759 Speaker 1: episode that didn't make it into the final episode was 606 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:17,040 Speaker 1: sort of the historiography of that event and how it 607 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:21,959 Speaker 1: has changed over time, because there was a period sort 608 00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:28,600 Speaker 1: of in the late nineteen early twenty century where people 609 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 1: were sort of like, yeah, this was definitely where we 610 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:35,440 Speaker 1: should start the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Lisa did 611 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:38,799 Speaker 1: not specify how long ago this trip to the UH 612 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:41,759 Speaker 1: to the battle ground was. And I did find as 613 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:45,440 Speaker 1: I was looking through stuff a picture that was of 614 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,080 Speaker 1: a historical marker that did seem to suggest like this 615 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:51,200 Speaker 1: was the first battle of the American Revolution. That does 616 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:54,440 Speaker 1: not appear to be the stance of the park or 617 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:59,040 Speaker 1: like the North Carolina the whichever department it is that 618 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,920 Speaker 1: is governing those parks, that does not appear to be 619 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:06,920 Speaker 1: the case anymore. Um. The Friends of the Aliman's Battleground 620 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: website has a thing that says, although the Battle of 621 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:13,120 Speaker 1: Alamance was not the first official battle of the American Revolution, 622 00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:17,640 Speaker 1: it did provide some valuable insight for revolutionaries as discontent 623 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:21,360 Speaker 1: with British rule continued to increase. So that, to me 624 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:26,760 Speaker 1: is a really interesting example of how writing about history 625 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:31,480 Speaker 1: has changed over time. Because history is not like a 626 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:34,680 Speaker 1: dry set of facts that existed and have no interpretation 627 00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:39,040 Speaker 1: to them at all, the way that historians interpret things shifts, um. 628 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:42,200 Speaker 1: And I found a super interesting paper that UH that 629 00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:44,359 Speaker 1: went into all that in detail that initially I had 630 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:47,800 Speaker 1: a bunch of stuff about in the outline that I 631 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:51,680 Speaker 1: finally decided was a little bit off the actual topics, 632 00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:55,080 Speaker 1: so I took it out, UM, but I'm glad I 633 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:57,480 Speaker 1: had to taught an opportunity to talk about it today. 634 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:00,600 Speaker 1: It also cracks me up that there is a little 635 00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:06,080 Speaker 1: North Carolina, Massachusetts arguing. They are arguing, so not exactly 636 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:13,279 Speaker 1: a little conflict of Yeah, yeah, it's totally valid to 637 00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:18,080 Speaker 1: say that a lot of times, UM education and UH 638 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:21,640 Speaker 1: instruction about the Revolutionary War focuses a whole lot on 639 00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:24,600 Speaker 1: the Northeast and does not talk as much about things 640 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,600 Speaker 1: that happened elsewhere. Even growing up in North Carolina, I 641 00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:30,279 Speaker 1: feel like most of the Revolutionary War stuff that we 642 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:34,480 Speaker 1: heard about was happening in places like Massachusetts. Um. So 643 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:38,960 Speaker 1: like that's a totally valid point to make about history education. Anyway, 644 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:40,839 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us about this 645 00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:43,240 Speaker 1: or any other podcast, where History podcast at how stuff 646 00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:45,400 Speaker 1: Works dot com, and we're all over social media at 647 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:48,040 Speaker 1: missed in History. That's where you'll find our Facebook or Twitter, 648 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:50,960 Speaker 1: our Pinterest, and our Instagram. If you come to our website, 649 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:52,960 Speaker 1: which is missing history dot com, you will find that 650 00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:55,319 Speaker 1: link for the trip to Paris, as well as a 651 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:57,960 Speaker 1: searchable archive of every episode we have ever done, and 652 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,360 Speaker 1: show notes for the episodes Holly and I have done together. 653 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,600 Speaker 1: And you can subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, 654 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:07,080 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else do you 655 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:14,520 Speaker 1: get your podcasts. For more on this and thousands of 656 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:19,880 Speaker 1: other topics, visit how Stuff Works dot com. M