Alexandre Dumas, père, (born July 24, 1802, Villers-Cotterêts, Aisne, France—died December 5, 1870, Puys, near Dieppe), one of the most prolific and most popular French authors of the 19th century. Without ever attaining indisputable literary merit, Dumas succeeded in gaining a great reputation first as a dramatist and then as a historical novelist, especially for such works as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. His memoirs, which, with a mixture of candour, mendacity, and boastfulness, recount the events of his extraordinary life, also provide a unique insight into French literary life during the Romantic period. He was the father (père) of the dramatist and novelist Alexandre Dumas, called Dumas fils. lexandre Dumas, père Home Literature Novels & Short Stories Novelists A-K Alexandre Dumas, père French author [1802–1870] By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica • Edit History Alexandre Dumas, père, (born July 24, 1802, Villers-Cotterêts, Aisne, France—died December 5, 1870, Puys, near Dieppe), one of the most prolific and most popular French authors of the 19th century. Without ever attaining indisputable literary merit, Dumas succeeded in gaining a great reputation first as a dramatist and then as a historical novelist, especially for such works as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. His memoirs, which, with a mixture of candour, mendacity, and boastfulness, recount the events of his extraordinary life, also provide a unique insight into French literary life during the Romantic period. He was the father (père) of the dramatist and novelist Alexandre Dumas, called Dumas fils. Alexandre Dumas. Alexandre Dumas, père See all media Born: July 24, 1802 France Died: December 5, 1870 (aged 68) near Dieppe France Notable Works: “The Count of Monte Cristo” “The Count of Monte Cristo” “The Three Musketeers” Movement / Style: Romanticism Notable Family Members: father Alexandre Dumas son Alexandre Dumas, fils Dumas’s father, Thomas-Alexandre Davy de La Pailleterie—born out of wedlock to the marquis de La Pailleterie and Marie Cessette Dumas, a black slave of Santo Domingo—was a common soldier under the ancien régime who assumed the name Dumas in 1786. He later became a general in Napoleon’s army. The family fell on hard times, however, especially after General Dumas’s death in 1806, and the young Alexandre went to Paris to attempt to make a living as a lawyer. He managed to obtain a post in the household of the Duke d’Orléans.