Book RetroView: “The Black Count” by Tom Reiss
By Guest Contributing Reviewer Marc S. Friedman
“RetroView” is a new series of BlackBooks+BlackMinds where we review important older books that you may have missed. We begin this series with a review by our chief reviewer, Marc S. Friedman, of “The Black Count” by Tom Reiss.
Published in 2012, this book has garnered many honors, including the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. It is the story of the real Count of Monte Cristo[1], the novelist Alexandre Dumas’s father.
This unforgettable tale of French General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas began with his birth in 1762 in Saint-Domingue, now Haiti. Dumas was of mixed-race, born to a white father, a rebellious French nobleman running from French authorities, and an enslaved Black woman.
When he was 14, Dumas’s father, to raise funds to return to France and claim his inheritance, sold Dumas and his siblings into slavery in Haiti with the right of redemption, meaning he could repurchase them. Within a few months, Dumas’s father repurchased him (but not his siblings, who remained slaves) and sent young Dumas to France.
After arriving in France, young Dumas attended an elite academy, and received an education typical for a son of a French nobleman. With his father’s help, Dumas then joined the French military at the age of 24. Because of his distinguished military service, Dumas was appointed General-in-Chief of the French Army of the Alps at age 32, becoming the commander of 53,000 troops.
His record of military service during the French Revolutionary Wars became legendary as he successfully commanded French troops in pivotal battles against both the Italian and Austrian Armies who sought to conquer the Alps. In 1797, the Austrian troops gave General Dumas the nickname Schwarzer Teufel, which meant “Black Devil”. Napolean also gave Dumas an honored nickname – “the Horatius Cocles of the Tyrol” after a hero who had saved Ancient Rome.
However, in 1798, General Dumas was sent to Egypt by Napoleon to command the French Expeditionary Army. On the march from Alexandria to Cairo, Dumas openly confronted Napoleon on the latter’s motive for the expedition. Thereafter Dumas was persona non grata. Dumas departed for France on an unsound ship that, unfortunately, foundered off the coast of Naples, Italy, where Dumas was arrested by the Italian authorities and imprisoned for almost three years.
After his release from prison, Dumas returned to France, where he and his wife had a son, the famous author Alexandre Dumas. General Dumas died from stomach cancer in 1806 at the age of 43, when his son was almost four.
In his eyes, the father of the acclaimed novelist was the real Count of Monte Cristo because of his military service, unbounded bravery, and ultimate betrayal. General Dumas was the inspiration for several of Alexandre’s classic novels, including “The Count of Monte Cristo” (1844) and “The Three Musketeers.”
Author Tom Reiss penetratingly delves into this riveting narrative in "The Black Count," skillfully weaving together from various sources a highly entertaining biography that makes the life of General Alexandre Dumas come alive. The author paints a vivid portrait of a fascinating and charismatic man who embodied nobility, courage, and unwavering principles.
General Dumas commanded universal respect and admiration. Born into a world where opportunities for people of mixed race were rare, he defied odds to receive a stellar education in France and quickly rise through the ranks of Napoleon's army during the tumult of the French Revolution.
Amidst the chaos of war-torn Europe, Dumas's valor shone brightly. Whether battling in the Alps or leading cavalry charges in Egypt, he displayed remarkable leadership and battlefield prowess. However, his journey was not without hardship; racism, political intrigue and the jealousy of rivals shadowed his career.
General Dumas's legacy, however, lives on beyond his own towering achievements. Through his son’s creation of several masterpiece novels, the General’s record of accomplishments and resilience are immortalized in literature, inspiring successive generations including many who will read this review. Yet, it's a legacy tinged with tragedy; denied the title of count and recognition in his own time, his story stands as a testament to the enduring struggle against racial prejudice and the quest for justice.
Interestingly, Dumas is the highest-ranking soldier of color to have served in a continental European Army. In fact, Dumas was the highest-ranking Black commander in any largely white military until Colin Powell became a four-start general in 1989, a rank equivalent to Dumas’s General-in-Chief of the French Army. Dumas’s military achievements were monumental.
Reiss's meticulous research and rollicking narrative breathe new life into the forgotten heroism of General Alexandre Dumas. As his novelist son, Alexandre, captured the imagination of readers with his tales of his father’s adventures, so too does "The Black Count" reclaim the rightful place of a man whose deeds transcended the boundaries of history. This book is a page-turner. Reiss is a masterful storyteller. A reader will long remember the fascinating tale of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, the real Count of Monte Cristo.
Our Guest Reviewer
Marc S. Friedman was a trial lawyer for five decades. He is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University where he received a B.A. in Philosophy and The George Washington University Law School where he received a Juris Doctor degree, with Honors.
[1] “Monte Cristo” was a section of Saint-Domingue where Dumas’s uncle lived. It was known as the country’s center of sugar exporting and slavery.
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What a fascinating story about someone I didn’t even know existed
Recently, a long unknown Alexandre Dumas novel called "Georges" was published. As it is set in Haiti at the time of the rebellion against the French, it may have also been influenced by his father's backdrop.