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Sunday Classics: Alexandre Dumas’s high adventure

The French author knew how to keep readers on the edge of their seats

Few know that Alexandre Dumas has to his credit an extensive cookbook as well as an eight-volume work on famous crimes and criminals in history called Celebrated Crimes, effectively making him a true-crime enthusiast. But the 19^th-century French author is best known as a pioneer of high adventure in historical fiction. After all, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers are canon, and have sealed Dumas’s place in the adventure literary genre.

Dumas was so prolific that scholars continue to discover new works of his — in 2002, a five-act play he wrote was found by a researcher in France’s national library. Even a century-and-a-half after his passing (today marks Dumas’s 151^st death anniversary),  the appeal of his breathtaking writing endures. 

Read his books today to witness his ability to tap into every generation’s urge to be on the edge of their seats.