When a mulatto general from Napoleon's army retired to the small northeastern town of Villers-Cotterets, France, little did the natives know that their town was now destined to become the birthplace of the great Alexandre Dumas. On July 24, 1802 the 44-year-old general learned that he had fathered a son. A statue in the town now commemorates one of the most prolific and loved writers of the 19th century. Alexandre Dumas excelled at both the dramatic genre and the romantic novel. His works involved adventuresome plots, which depict the heroic triumph of human strength and endurance.
Dumas' plots were inspired by his father's wild adventures. Beginning early in life, Dumas learned of the...
