Dumas encouraged the young prince to brave an ad-hoc boat trip, enjoying stops at the islands of Elba, Portoferraio, and ultimately the remote landmass Montecristo. Knowing little of the author’s proclivity for impromptu seafaring expeditions, Jerôme Bonaparte-former King of Westphalia and brother of Napoleon-asked Dumas to play host and tour guide to his 19-year-old son, also named Napoleon, during his visit to Italy in 1842. DUMAS GOT THE TITLE FROM A BOAT TRIP HE TOOK WITH NAPOLEON’S NEPHEW. Ultimately seizing a position as a general, Thomas-Alexandre still holds the distinction of being the highest-ranking person of color in a Continental European army. Born in the French colony of Saint Domingue to an enslaved African mother, Thomas-Alexandre followed his nobleman father back to mainland France, pursuing formal education and military enlistment. THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO DREW FURTHER INSPIRATION FROM THE AUTHOR’S FATHER.Ī swashbuckler in the tradition of great literary heroes, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas-born Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie-certainly epitomized the “self-made man” characterization that made the titular Count such a winning figure. And after killing the third conspirator, Picaud himself was murdered by Allut, the friend who had identified the betrayers. After getting the information, Picaud (who had been faking his death) went on to pursue increasingly vicious revenge quests against the three men who wronged him, saving the most brutal sentence for the man who went on to marry Picaud’s fiancée. Later, on Picaud’s deathbed, he offered a small fortune to one of his friends, Allut, for the name of those who betrayed him. After the man died, Picaud became his sole beneficiary and extremely wealthy. Popular appropriation of the legend of Picaud has him earning the affection of someone wealthy and childless (possibly a priest) he was assigned to serve. Among the accounts featured was the particularly macabre tale of Nîmes-born shoemaker Pierre Picaud, who was framed for treason by three men who lusted after his wealthy fiancée. THE PREMISE WAS INSPIRED BY A REAL LIFE STORY OF A VENGEFUL SHOEMAKER.ĭumas’ appetite for action-packed tales led him to the 1838 publication Memoirs from the Archives of Paris Police, a collection of true crime stories arranged by author Jacques Peuchet. But did you know these 15 facts about the classic? 1. Most everyone knows the story of Edmond Dantès, the wrongfully-incarcerated (and consequently revenge-obsessed) hero of Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 novel The Count of Monte Cristo.
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