The Black Tulip (Oxford World's Classics)
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Product Description
Product Description
Set at the height of the "tulipomania" that gripped Holland in 17th century, this is the story of Cornelius van Baerle, a humble grower whose sole desire is to grow the perfect specimen of the tulip negra.
When his godfather is murdered, Cornelius finds himself caught up in the deadly politics of the time, imprisoned and facing a death sentence. His jailor's daughter Rosa, holds both the key to his survival and his chance to produce the ultimate tulip.
About the Author
Alexandre Dumas (1824-95) was a pioneer of the Romantic theatre in France, for which he wrote a series of colourful historical dramas, although it is as a novelist that he is best known today. His works include The Three Musketeers (1844-5), La Reine Margot (1845) and The Count of Monte Cristo (1844-5).
Robin Buss is a journalist and translator. For Penguin, his translations include works by Sartre, Zola and, most recently, The Plague by Camus.
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First Sentence
On 20 August 1672, the city of the Hague, so lively, so white and so trim that you would think every day was Sunday; the city of the Hague, with its shady park, its great trees rising above the Gothic houses and the broad mirrors of its canals reflecting the church towers with their almost Oriental cupolas; the city of the Hague, capital of the seven United Provinces,1 was packed with a red and black stream of citizens in every one of its streets, hurrying, panting, anxious, running along with knives at their belts, muskets on their shoulders or sticks in their hands towards the Buitenhof,2 that fearsome prison whose barred windows can still be seen today, where Cornelius de Witt,3 brother of the former Grand Pensionary of Holland,4 had been languishing ever since the accusation of murder was brought against him by the barber Tyckelaer. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
On 20 August 1672, the city of the Hague, so lively, so white and so trim that you would think every day was Sunday; the city of the Hague, with its shady park, its great trees rising above the Gothic houses and the broad mirrors of its canals reflecting the church towers with their almost Oriental cupolas; the city of the Hague, capital of the seven United Provinces,1 was packed with a red and black stream of citizens in every one of its streets, hurrying, panting, anxious, running along with knives at their belts, muskets on their shoulders or sticks in their hands towards the Buitenhof,2 that fearsome prison whose barred windows can still be seen today, where Cornelius de Witt,3 brother of the former Grand Pensionary of Holland,4 had been languishing ever since the accusation of murder was brought against him by the barber Tyckelaer. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
While most of Dumas works travel around a variety of places this book spends most of its time in Holland, a very different place to the France of his other works. The charm this book has for me is that it is typical Dumas in the style of writing and in the detail with which he describes scenes, but it is on a smaller scale then most of his works enabling him to spend a little more time on some of the details. It does share certain plot elements with the Count of Monte Cristo but by centering the story around an obsession with tullips it lends an eccentricity to the story which makes it an easy and pleasant read. I would recommend this to any Dumas fans and indeed to anyone who reads widely.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Who would have thought that a book, with a simple plot about two rivals trying racing to be the first to grow a black tulip, could be so unputdownable? There are no lords and ladies, no swashbuckling heros, no evil cardinals or Miladys -- nothing but a darn good yarn, and a very sweet love story.
Dumas is just brilliant (as always) and his dialogue (as always) is among the finest I've ever come across. A very quick, albeit enjoyable, read. Highly recommended.
Dumas is just brilliant (as always) and his dialogue (as always) is among the finest I've ever come across. A very quick, albeit enjoyable, read. Highly recommended.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a very good translation of the full story with excellent notes to explain the more obscure references - or the references to the classics if these too are unfamiliar. The book is surprisingly fast and gripping. The characters are fully formed with insight into their motivations and actions revealed at just the right time. A beautifully told story - with many memorable phrases. A must for your bookshelf to read again and again.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Now I keep my eyes peeled for black tulips!
I didn't really know how to rate this novel. I have given it 4 stars because I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Roét
Almost as good as The Count of Monte Cristo
Who would have thought that a book about growing tulips could be so exciting? And yet Alexandre Dumas managed to write a compelling page turner based on that very subject. Read more
Published 23 months ago by H. Skinner
Ripping Yarn
There are many parallels between this tale of wrongful imprisonment and its better-known predecessor, The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics). Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2009 by Kenneth F. Mcara
A lively romantic romp across the politics and tulip economy of 17th...
Another ripping yarn from the pen of Alexander Dumas. The book is set against a real political and economic background of the Netherlands of 1672. Read more
Published on 25 May 2009 by Brownbear101
A dated Dumas
I have been an avid reader of Dumas for quite some time, and so when I came across this short, strangely titled book, I was eager to get between its sheets. Read more
Published on 21 Jun 2000
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