Alexandre Dumas was born on July 24, 1802 in Villers-Cotterets northeast of Paris, France. His paternal grandfather was a French nobleman and his paternal grandmother was a black slave from Santo Dominque, which is now part of Haiti. The father Thomas was a general in Napoleon's army and fell into disfavor, rendering his family impoverished. General Dumas died in 1806 when Alexandre was four years old leaving his mother to raise him under difficult circumstances.
Even though Alexandre had little education, he loved books and read whatever he could. His mother's stories of his father's adventures spurred his imagination. After the restoration of the monarchy, twenty-year-old Alexandre moved to Paris and worked for Palais Royal . He wrote articles for magazine as well as plays. At age 25 Alexandre had his first success as a playwright with the play Henry III and his Court.
He wrote hundreds of books, so many in fact, that he had other writers assist him. Dumas married in 1840. A son named after him followed in his footsteps. Alexandre made and lost several fortunes with his writing and after years of traveling and writing, he died a poor man on December 5, 1870. The most famous of his works was The Three Musketeers followed by The Count of Monte Cristo.
