When I was younger I loved swashbuckling stories. I read the The Three Musketeers and Count of Monte Cristo albeit in the Classics Illustrated edition after finding the novels a bit beyond my reading level. In later years I tackled them in the original version and found them riveting.
I even studied them in high school along with other classics of European literature and never once did I learn that the author, Alexander Dumas was black! That little nugget was conveniently ignored in my white-centric schooling, though I expect it is not today. So, as my contribution to Black History Month, I encourage you to find out a little more about Dumas and the next time you consider one of the many versions of his novels that have made it into film and television, remember his heritage.
The French writer was from an aristocratic Hatian/Creole family, though his widowed mother had long lost any wealth and raised Alexander as best as she could. His love of books and admiration for his fathers military career lead to his later storylines of daring do.
Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
Thanks for the link to Project Gutenberg (via the link to Dumas' works)! I'm a fan of H.G.Wells, and since most (or all) of his works are out of copyright, I've not found an online source for his books until now. Here's a link to his books for downloading:
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/w#a30
richard h.
fort worth, texas, usa
Post a Comment