Alexandre Dumas

French writer and dramatist (1802–1870) · 1802–1870

Appears in 12 videos · 21 passages, 5 of them in depth.

What Dominique Pagani says

Dominique Pagani nearly always discusses Alexandre Dumas through Nerval, his schoolmate and friend from youth1. He treats him as the figure of success: Dumas triumphs in the theatre and with the serial novel, writes "by the kilometre" and makes a fortune, while Nerval, often his ghostwriter, remains in the shadows and dreams of a comparable success2 3. He returns several times to the Riancey amendment, which targets historical serials such as The Three Musketeers because they mix history and fiction; he notes that with Dumas one never knows whether one is in the one or the other, and he links this mixture to the one Nerval practises4 5. He also reads closely the preface to Les Filles du feu, addressed to Dumas: Dumas had published an article on Nerval's madness, which Nerval takes as the epitaph of his mind and answers with humour, mocking a recipient who would not understand much of it6 7. Finally, he recalls the episode of El Desdichado, written on the back of a visiting card left for Dumas at the newspaper La Presse.

Summary produced automatically from 21 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.

Who is this?

Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie; 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père, was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the most widely read French authors. Many of his historical novels of adventure were originally published as serials, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later. He also wrote many plays and, since the early 20th century, many of his novels have been adapted into films. […]

Read the article on Wikipedia

Text: Wikipédia, CC BY-SA 4.0, excerpt · Portrait: Nadar, Public domain

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Season 4 · 18 Oct 2017#4.1 Angélique (by Nerval)

48:30Addressee of the preface to Les Filles du feu, who had quoted a sonnet by Nerval.
1:00:13Nerval mocks him in the preface, knowing he would scarcely understand this kind of literature.
1:08:18An author of serial novels targeted by the Riancey amendment.

Series · 4 Oct 2021#4 Nomad and sedentary - The case of Nerval

28:30He had written that Nerval had lost his reason; the preface to Les Filles du feu answers him with humor.

Season 4 · 12 Nov 2017#4.2 Angélique (by Nerval)

5:31Dedicatee of Les Filles du feu, he had published an article on Nerval's madness, which Nerval reads as the epitaph of his mind.
14:04Nerval leaves him El Desdichado as a calling card at the newspaper La Presse.
40:41The Three MusketeersAn example of the serial novel that mixes history and fiction, targeted by the Riancey amendment.

Series · 29 Jan 2016What is to be done? 2/3

9:44The triumph of the serial novel, targeted by the Riancey amendment; he makes a fortune while Nerval, his ghostwriter for the theater, remains in the shadows.

Season 11 · 26 Apr 2023Worldliness in Clouscard, or "The dominant ideology"

33:24A childhood friend of Nerval who triumphed in the theater.

Season 9.1 · 23 Oct 2020#2 Benefits and harms of amnesia...

3:00Addressee of the preface to Les Filles du feu.

Series · 23 Mar 2020Interview with Dominique Pagani: Introduction to the upcoming workshops

16:27A schoolmate of Nerval's, affected by the ban on serialized historical novels.
29:33Celebrated the Hôtel de la Cloche in Compiègne.
1:01:49In his absence, Nerval writes El Desdichado on the back of a calling card.