Alexandre Dumas fils was born in Paris, France, the illegitimate child of Marie-Catherine Labay, a dressmaker, and novelist Alexandre Dumas. In 1831 his father legally recognized him and ensured the young Dumas received the best education possible at the Institution Goubaux and the College Bourbon. At that time, the law allowed the elder Dumas to take the child away from his mother. Her agony inspired Dumas fils to write about tragic female characters. In almost all of his writings, he emphasized the moral purpose of literature and in his 1858 play, Le fils naturel (The Illegitimate Son), he espoused the belief that if a man fathers an illegitimate child, then he has an obligation to legitimize the child and marry the woman. Dumas' paternal great-grandparents were a white French nobleman and a young black Haitian woman. In the boarding schools, Dumas fils was constantly taunted by his classmates. These issues all profoundly influenced his thoughts, behaviour, and writing. In 1844 Dumas fils moved to Saint-Germain-en-Laye to live with his father. There, he met Marie Duplessis, a young courtesan who would be the inspiration for his romantic novel, La dame aux camelias (The Lady of the Camellias). Adapted into a play, it was titled in English (especially in the United States) as Camille and is the basis for Verdi's 1853 opera, La Traviata. Although he admitted that he had done the adaptation because he needed the money, he had a huge success with the play. Thus began the playwriting career of Dumas fils which not only eclipsed that of his father during his lifetime but also dominated the serious French stage for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. After this, he virtually abandoned the novel (though his semi-autobiographical L'Affaire Clemenceau (1867) achieved some success). In 1864, Alexandre Dumas fils married Nadejda Naryschkine, with whom he had a daughter. After Naryschkine's death, he married Henriette Regnier. In 1874, he was admitted to the Academie francaise and in 1894 he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur. Alexandre Dumas fils died at Marly-le-Roi, Yvelines, on November 27, 1895 and was interred in the Cimetiere de Montmartre in Paris. It was, perhaps coincidentally, only some 100 metres away from Marie Duplessis.
Alexandre Dumas, born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie; (24 July 1802 - 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas, pere, was a French writer. His works have been translated into nearly 100 languages, and he is one of the most widely read French authors. Many of his historical novels of high adventure were originally published as serials, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later. His novels have been adapted since the early twentieth century for nearly 200 films. Dumas' last novel, The Knight of Sainte-Hermine, unfinished at his death, was completed by a scholar and published in 2005, becoming a bestseller. It was published in English in 2008 as The Last Cavalier
Alexandre Dumas fils est ne a Paris, en France, enfant illegitime de Marie-Catherine Labay, couturiere, et du romancier Alexandre Dumas. En 1831, son pere le reconnait legalement et veille a ce que le jeune Dumas recoive la meilleure education possible a l'Institution Goubaux et au College Bourbon. A cette epoque, la loi autorise l'aine des Dumas a retirer l'enfant a sa mere. L'agonie de celle-ci inspire a Dumas fils des personnages feminins tragiques. Dans presque tous ses ecrits, il insiste sur l'objectif moral de la litterature et dans sa piece de 1858, Le fils naturel, il affirme que si un homme engendre un enfant illegitime, il a l'obligation de legitimer l'enfant et d'epouser la femme. Les arriere-grands-parents paternels de Dumas etaient un noble francais blanc et une jeune femme noire haitienne. Dans les pensionnats, Dumas fils etait constamment l'objet de railleries de la part de ses camarades de classe. Tous ces problemes ont profondement influence ses pensees, son comportement et ses ecrits. En 1844, Dumas fils demenage a Saint-Germain-en-Laye pour vivre avec son pere. Il y rencontre Marie Duplessis, une jeune courtisane qui lui inspirera son roman romantique La dame aux camelias. Adapte en piece de theatre, il a ete intitule en anglais (surtout aux Etats-Unis) Camille et est a l'origine de l'opera de Verdi de 1853, La Traviata. Bien qu'il ait admis avoir fait l'adaptation parce qu'il avait besoin d'argent, la piece a connu un enorme succes. C'est ainsi que debute la carriere d'auteur dramatique de Dumas fils, qui non seulement eclipse celle de son pere de son vivant, mais domine egalement la scene francaise serieuse pendant la majeure partie de la seconde moitie du XIXe siecle. Apres cela, il a pratiquement abandonne le roman (bien que son semi-autobiographie L'Affaire Clemenceau (1867) ait connu un certain succes). En 1864, Alexandre Dumas fils epouse Nadejda Naryschkine, avec qui il a une fille. Apres la mort de Naryschkine, il epouse Henriette Regnier. En 1874, il est admis a l'Academie francaise et en 1894, il est decore de la Legion d'honneur. Alexandre Dumas fils meurt a Marly-le-Roi, dans les Yvelines, le 27 novembre 1895 et est inhume au cimetiere de Montmartre a Paris. C'est, peut-etre par coincidence, a une centaine de metres de Marie Duplessis.
