Biography Group read, 3rd quarter: The Black Count by Tom Reiss - General thread, no spoilers

Our 3rd quarter (July-September) biography group read is The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss.

Please use this thread for general book discussion, i.e. introductions, when you'll be reading, background info, etc.

Please use the Book Discussion thread found here to discuss the book itself. http://www.librarything.com/topic/192437

I've seen great reviews of this book from a wide variety of LT reviews and am looking forward to it.

I've checked this out from my library and will start reading it in the next few days. I'm also considering reading a novel by Alexandre Dumas. I've read The Count of Monte Cristo so I'm thinking of either The Three Musketeers or La Reine Margot.

I just discovered this group read -- good timing as I am planning on reading this in August! I have been making my way through the entire d'Artagnan series this year so it seemed fitting to read this biography.

Great! Glad to have another reader! I just finished the book and enjoyed it very much. In addition to showing how Alex Dumas was an influence on his son's writing, it also has a lot of interesting information about the French Revolution and the rights of blacks and slaves during the time period.

I'll be starting it soon.

Finished it tonight. Very interesting, although I haven't read any Dumas.

I have been reading this slowly. I am finding it easy to read, just been busy lately.

I am finding the information about blacks and mixed race people in pre-Revolutionary France fascinating so far. I am looking forward to the Revolution section!

Things keep getting in the way but I have the book here and hope to get to it soon.

I am up to Book Three, about 45% in; Napoleon is on the rise but hasn't taken over yet. I like all the footnotes (end notes?) which are so easy to read using my Kindle -- just click on the symbol, read the note, and then return to where you were!

How am I going to keep track of which Alexandre Dumas I mean when I post here? I guess I will call the subject of this book Alex Dumas, his son Alexandre and hopefully won't have to refer to his grandson but if I do, I will call him Alexandre III :)

I have been reading a lot of Alexandre this year and it is interesting to see the inspiration for various characters or events. For example, Reiss has commented several times on how large Alex is & how physically strong -- I was irresistibly reminded of the descriptions of Porthos which I recently read in The Man in the Iron Mask.

It seems like I am the only one reading this, but I will keep posting in the hopes that someone may join in later.

I am almost done now, ~85% done. I am learning so much, not just about Alex Dumas but about this whole period of French history. I knew bits and pieces (many gleaned from reading Georgette Heyer) but now I have a framework for those pieces to fit into. I like how Reiss tells the reader about how he discovered information or visited places that were important in Alex's life.

I found this image of a painting from a museum in Bayonne thought to be of General Dumas: Portrait of a Hunter in a Landscape, attributed to Louis Gauffier (1762-1801):

You will be the third to finish. >4 japaul22: >6 MarthaJeanne:

For me it has been somewhat overshadowed by Belle : The slave daughter and the Lord Chief Justice and by Der kleine Adler which for one reason and another appealed more to me.

I finished this biography today. I need to take some time to organize my thoughts but one thing is clear to me now -- Napoleon was much more of a weasel than I had previously known! I had always been one Wellington's side but more due to my Anglophilia than from any real animus towards Napoleon.

Here is an image of a painting (artist unknown to me) showing General Dumas at the bridge outside Brixen on 25 March 1797 where, while waiting for reinforcements, he single-handedly kept the Austrians from crossing:



Look at how tall Dumas is compared to the other soldiers!

I found this a fascinating book! (4.3 stars) For me, listening to the audio version usually enhances those books which contain phrases or names from countries with a language different from my own, and I found that very true in this case. Paul Michael was a four-star reader for this book, and I believe added hugely to my enjoyment of it.

So much new territory for my little brain; so much history of which I was totally ignorant. I really, really enjoyed The Black Count!