Queen By Chance, She Became A Tyrant By Design
June 6, 2007 by Elijah
There is no better reminder of what a huuuuge dork I am than when I slaver with anticipation over something that hardly anyone else even cares about. The recent release of The Women’s War by Alexandre Dumas served as one such grievous reminder.
This being my inaugural post, I should probably clarify, for those who don’t already know, that Alexandre Dumas (père, of course) is my favorite author of all time. Ever. Bar none. Period, end of story.
Anyway, with that clear it should be no surprise that the mid 2007 release of The Women’s War was, to little ol’ me, a major event to which I had been eagerly looking forward since at least the last third of ‘06. The thought of a book of Dumas’ that hadn’t been released in English since 1927, and hadn’t had a new English translation since the 19th century, already had my attention. When, after a little research, I discovered that it was written during Dumas’ best period–namely 1844, the time in which he was working with Auguste Maquet on The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and many others–I pretty much wanted to cry with happiness. (I was tempted to use an orgasm comparison just now, but the very first post might be a little early for me to be getting sexual.)
Such books are what I live for. However, the fact that I’d never heard of it, and that it hadn’t been translated in so long, did make me a bit wary that it would, perhaps, be a weaker Dumas work. Having read about half of it by this point (I make my way through his books slowly, so as to savor every moment) I can say that it’s definitely a good one, although I do see the possibility of it going downhill in its latter half. So far, though, it’s got all the necessities: intrigue, disguises, bad-asses, a hero who’s always smiling and falls in love at the drop of a hat, and within the first few chapters two mysterious men (one of whom is masked) have a clandestine meeting on two small boats in the middle of a river. Gold.
Best guess as to why it wasn’t translated for so long: delicate social sensibilities could easily see a good deal of possible homoeroticism in Part I, even if it is clearly undermined when one keeps reading.
All in all, I certainly hope that this will lead to more of Dumas’ obscure works seeing new release in English… although, if I keep being tantalized with such releases almost a year ahead of time I may just have a heart attack. Nonetheless, what better way to begin my blog than by raising awareness of this novel amongst my (nonexistent) readers?
A review will be speedily forthcoming.
I loved The Count when I read it a couple of years ago! Your enthusiasm is really contagious. and I’ve started the Musketeers.
I linked your blog (you need not reciprocate - its not as good and you may not like it - I won’t be offended). The only reason I mention it is that I wondered what to call it. The quote is kinda long, I went for “Highbrow Fiction is a Myth” but I’ll use whatever you direct.
Finally, did you read Allende’s Zorro and will you be writing about it?
D’oh! - - About to Charge
Thanks for the kind words!
The Count of Monte Cristo is, in fact, my absolute favorite book ever… everevereverever. This will certainly be elaborated upon at some point.
And yes, I’ll definitely be covering Allende’s Zorro when I get to it in my multi-part Zorro… uh, thingy. Beware though, I don’t actually have too many nice things to say about it.