Monday, January 14, 2013
[Book Review] THE BLACK COUNT by Tom Reiss
Darletha reviews THE BLACK COUNT: GLORY, REVOLUTION, BETRAYAL, AND THE REAL COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Tom Reiss (Crown, 2012)
Alexandre Dumas was born Thomas-Alexandre in 1762 to a French marquis named Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie and a female slave, Marie Cessette Dumas. Antoine is described as a rake who lived off the wealth of relatives and had affairs with female slaves on his brother’s sugar plantation in Saint-Domingue, French colonial Haiti. When Antoine became a wanted man he changed his name and fled into the mountains where Thomas-Alexandre was born. Thomas-Alexandre joined his father in France in 1776.
There is extensive detail about the French Revolution that slows down the pacing but it doesn’t take away from discovering that General Alex and other blacks and mixed-race men enjoyed equal rights and opportunities in 18th century France. Reiss details how “Thomas-Alexandre” became “Alexandre Dumas,” rejecting his noble upbringing to begin his military career as a low-ranking dragoon. General Alex was fearless in battle and possessed a physical presence so commanding that the Egyptians took a more favorable notice of General Alex over “short” and “skinny” Napoleon.
Reiss' narrative style fills each chapter with intrigue and action. Through military records, correspondence, and unpublished documents General Alex is depicted as an highly-respected man with strong principles who was also despised, imprisoned, and tragically forgotten in history. Alexandre Dumas (the author not the general) borrowed from many of his father's experiences to pen his classic novels. Art truly imitated an amazing life.
Darletha Matthews, South Branch Library
Labels: History, Nonfiction, Reviews by Darletha Matthews
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