The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo

This historical biography is based on the life of the famous author, Alexandre Dumas’s father, Thomas-Alexandre, known as Alex Dumas. After time spent in the War of the Polish Succession that ended in 1738, Frenchman Alexandre (Antoine) Davy de la Pailleterie, a future marquis, left France to seek his fortune in Saint-Domingue, the island of Hispaniola. At that time, the Spaniards owned, Santo Domingo, the east side of the island, and the French owned the west, Saint-Domingue (Haiti). Because of sugar planting, Saint-Domingue was one of the wealthiest islands in the world. Antoine moved in with his younger brother, Charles, who had married well and became a well-known sugar planter. Antoine scrounged off his brother for a decade, kept several slave mistresses, and refused to work. Charles and Antoine’s relationship ended violently. Antoine fled with three of his brothers’ slaves, one of which was his latest mistress. To probably resist arrest, Antoine moved up into the highlands, a densely wooded mountains, eventually settling in Jérémie, an isolated area of Haiti. There, he changed his name to Antoine de l’Isle—Antoine of the island. Antoine purchased a mistress for a very high price, Marie Cessette Dumas. Marie Cessette bore him four children. The eldest child was Antoine’s favorite, Thomas-Alexandre, born in 1762. When Antoine returned to France, he would eventually send for fifteen year old Thomas-Alexandre. Antoine sold Marie Cessette and their other three children. In France, Antoine made sure his son was well educated. Thomas-Alexandre became an excellent swordsman. As a young man, Thomas-Alexandre, enlisted in the dragoons, and rejected his father’s surname, Davy de la Pailleterie, and took his mother’s surname, Dumas. He would never again be known as Thomas. Instead, he used Alexandre (Alex) Dumas. He even listed his father as Antoine Dumas. As a Lieutenant Colonel, Alex, who was later commissioned as a General, married Marie-Louise Labouret of Villers-Cotterets, France. They would have three children: two daughters and Alexandre Dumas, Jr. their last child, the future author, was born 10 years later. The book is filled with an enormous amount of French history, some of which includes the shrewd General Bonaparte. At one point, General Dumas and Bonaparte fought together. General Dumas sailed to Egypt with Bonaparte. General Dumas appeared to be a loving husband and good father. On the front, he was a courageous, strong-minded, intuitive leader, unbiased toward his troops. From his men he received much devotion and admiration. His flaw was sometimes not using tact and being too critical. He had high expectations of a soldier’s performance. Yet his bold criticism toward inept superiors or those favored by superiors cost him promotions or unkindness later in life. General Napoleon showed farsightedness concerning his own future ambitions. However, he appeared to be intolerant of criticism expressed by General Dumas, and inflated his own self-importance when he and Dumas were generals. Napoleon was willing to cruelly exploit others for his own gain, especially concerning the Rights of Man decree. When Napoleon became emperor, the law, previously decreed by former King Louis XVI of France, April 4, 1792, which provided citizenship for all property owning free men of color on the islands, became invalid in 1800. In France, interracial marriages as well as interracial education were outlawed. People of color who had lived free in France were to be rounded up and sent back to the colonies. They could no longer live in Paris or the surrounding suburbs. This appears like history repeating itself. German citizens had experienced this during the Second World War, and currently Dominicans of Haitian descent are being denied citizenship because of their place of birth. Without giving too much away, this is a superb historical biography, well written, full of information, and a pleasure to read. The history in France and on the island, Saint-Domingue, will amaze you. I took my time reading this book. Surprisingly, Alexandre Dumas, author of The Three Musketeers, incorporated some of his father’s famous expeditions when writing his book. The author, Alexandre Dumas, expresses a genuine, tender love and admiration for his father, General Dumas. This book deserves five stars.

I thought this was a good story about an unheralded man who was sold as a slave yet rose to become a Division General in the French Army. His extraordinary life inspired characters in his sons books, Count of Monte Cristo and the 3 Musketeers. That being said, what keeps this book from being a truly great biography are the historical background that occasionally takes you away from the life of Thomas-Alexandre. While I feel the background is necessary to understand racism in pre-revolutionary France, you just feel as if your being taken away from the excitement when the author goes on and on about the environment in which he lived. The book is good mainly because the life of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas is so interesting. Anyone who enjoys a good historical read in addition to a good biography will really love this book. Those who are looking strictly for a good biography may not enjoy it as much. This history aspect is heavy in this book and it can sometimes read like a textbook for brief periods. It sounds like I am writing a bad review but I am really not. I really liked this book, but to truly enjoy it you have to be interested in history, and I can see how some may not like it as much as I did.

As I read through these pages, recounting the magnificent battles won for France by General Alexander Dumas, I wondered how much of this was known by the people of France and how he is treated in history books. His military heroics would seem to highlight his prominence. Historians wrote that "The Revolution was a great event that went terribly wrong"; perhaps negating some of the historic significance occurring in time. I was fascinated by Tom Reiss' book and applaud his persistence in bringing it into the public realm. A black man, who rose to the rank of General of the Army, during the eighteenth century, in France, was an extraordinary achievement even as France maintained a policy of slavery in their caribbean colonies. His efforts were attained when slavery was an entrenched institution throughout the Americas and other people of color were relegated to subhuman conditions. The "Ancien Regime" was overthrown by an uprising of the people which initiated the infamous "Revolution". General Dumas diligently assisted in implementing the military plan outlined by its leaders. This is a compelling story of a dedicated, loyal and talented soldier who overcame tremendous odds in achieving his goals. His love of country and display of honesty and forthrightness best characterized him. I did not know what to expect when I purchased this book. I have read Alexander Dumas, the novelist, but did not know of the vast achievements of his father, "The General". This was a serendipitous moment. General Dumas's leadership was well-documented and exciting to read. The book was well-written and researched. These were tremendous achievements, for a man who had to endure racial taunts and setbacks, and yet, he persevered to become one of France's great military leaders. I hope that his great accomplishments were recognized, even though he was later overshadowed and his role diminished by one who, through his self-serving attitude and outlandish ego, became a dictator and subsequent ruler of France. A colossal history of the highest order; one of valor, triumph and courage! Bruce E. McLeod, Jr. Las Vegas, Nevada 15 August 2013

Ho conosciuto l'autore ai tempi che ha lavorato ancora su questo libro. Nel maggio 2007, durante il suo percorso italico da Taranto a Bolzano per ripercorrere i luoghi dove il nostro eroe aveva combattuto e dove è rimasto prigioniero, ho avuto modo di intrattenermi con il Reiss, purtroppo senza essere in grado di potergli fornire materiale utile alle sue ricerche. Leggendo il libro mi sono reso conto che di ricerche approfondite si tratta, perché tutto ciò di cui scrive è ben documentato - il libro non si basa su congetture o dicerie, ma su riscontri documetali verificabili. Un bel libro su un personaggio (Dumas nonnno) che ha ispirato sia i romanzi sui 3 moschettieri che il conte di Montecristo. A quanto vedo non esiste per il momento un'edizione italiana.

Not as thrilling as described and a little monotone

The life and military record of General Alexandre Dumas almost seems like the stuff of legend. His son, Alexandre Dumas (Pere) the writer, used him as the model for some of his most well known characters including Edmond Dantes (the Count of Monte Cristo) and d'Artagnan (the Three Musketeers). Alexandre Dumas (or Alex Dumas as he signed his name), was born in Saint Domingue to an African Women and a French Marquis and rose very quickly through the ranks solely on his own merit to become a General in the French army. A popular and striking commander who always lead from the front and would typically be found in the thickest and most dangerous of the fighting. Unfortunately like his comrade in arms, teacher and fellow revolutionary, Chevalier de St George, he was to face racism, bigotry and betrayal. In "The Black Count", Tom Reiss has written a most comprehensive biography of the General and the events which shaped and affected his life. From his early days in Saint Dominque to his rise to prominence during the French Revolution, the author draws on a wealth of information including personal memoirs and letters, the writings of his novelist son, visits to various sites of the campaigns he was involved in and records of his life and militarily service which altogether bring to light this virtual giant (standing at over six foot tall) of his time. He was to end his days almost forgotten as special laws enacted by his contemporary and one time commander Napoleon Bonaparte, started to affect lives of "People of Colour". The leaders of Saint Dominque were to lead their country to become the independent Republic of Haiti and his support for liberty and equality to the end of his life echoed the very principles which those in his land of birth were fighting for. I was aware of this man before reading "The Black Count", but Tom Reiss has left the reader with a very detailed account of his life and the world he lived in. This is an excellent book, well written and extensively researched by the author. Recommended reading!

A obra é muito interessante e bem escrita, lê-se como um romance. Mas a edição não corresponde - letra minúscula, papel fraco e amarelado, formato incomodo. O esforço de leitura pode deteriorar a apreciação da obra.

Studying history or reading historical biographies is like putting together the pieces of a humongous jigsaw puzzle. Every book you read adds more pieces and makes the whole picture a lot clearer. In certain cases it also takes you on an emotional journey when you catch a glimpse of the remarkable lives people lived - how they suffered and how they triumphed in the face of innumerable and unimaginable obstacles as well as the conniving of countless scoundrels along the way. I must say I couldn't help but be highly impressed by the heroics and the humanity of this 'Black Count' (Alex Dumas) - someone most worthy of our admiration, but overshadowed in history by his arch nemesis Napoleon. Known as 'der schwartze Teufel' (the black devil) to the Austrians for his ferocity in battle, Dumas' exploits and his leadership are awe inspiring. One of the particularly illuminating aspects of this book is its profile of the evolution and devolution of attitudes towards race and slavery throughout pre- and post-revolutionary France and its colonies - the conflict between the revolutionary ideals of "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" versus the economic interests of the colonial plantation owners and the resulting re-emergence of racist bigotry that allowed for the re-enslavement of its black population as well as the erasure of the memory of the valiant contributions they made to France - including those of the Black Count. Had it not been for Dumas's son - the literary genius who gave us such classics as 'The Three Musketeers' and 'The Count of Monte Cristo', as well as the dedicated work of author Tim Reiss in uncovering the left over fragments of his biography, his memory would most likely never have been more than a brief footnote in history, and the bulk of his achievements relegated to the dustbin of time. (Yes, I for one had never heard of this remarkable person until I came across this book.) And I learned so much along the way - I am truly grateful to those who helped preserve the memory of this great man.