Our formidable reader and co-founder of Barrett Bookstore's History Book Club reviewed the 2013 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Biography, "The Black Count" by Tom Reiss:
Somehow, I suspect most of you have not heard of Alexandre Antoine Davy, the Marquis de la Pailleterie. (Alias Alex Dumas) But The Count of Monte Cristo? Aha! And here the tale begins: In 1762, on a French possession in the Caribbean (Saint-Domingue... present day Haiti) a sturdy mulatto boy was born to a slave girl and French nobleman hiding from his family. Life on sugar plantations brought vast riches mixed with brutality. Le Code Noir (the Black Code) in the islands institutionalized extremes of injustice.
In 1776, a young Alex joined his father on an Atlantic crossing where he was soon thrown into a totally new world of learning the art of surviving in France. And survive he did. During these times, nobility was schooled to fight. Making war was about as common as breathing air. In short order, Dumas excelled in swordsmanship and all manners of learning. He grew to be over six feet in height with a "Herculean" build. Entering the lowest level in the Army, he quickly rose to General -- striking, as he had dark skin. He proved to be a brilliant soldier. Fantastic heroics became his trademark. To be blunt, Dumas should have been counted as one of France's most brilliant heroes. Yet his color stood in the way of recognition for over 200 years.
Dumas' son, the writer Alexandre Dumas, employed memories of his father as the model for The Count of Monte Cristo. And today, Tom Reiss devoting himself to original research, unfolds a wonderful tale."The Black Count" was truly bigger than life. A tragic figure tainted only by his color. This book carries a fabulous lesson in 18th Century French history -- all wrapped around a true yet utterly forgotten story. If you're looking for some good "swashbuckling" fun, en garde!. — Bob Wells
