In this seventh volume of his Celebrated Crimes, Dumas tells the three tales: of the brutal excesses of Ali Pacha; the tale of the Countess of Saint Geran; and of Murat, whose courage became a legend in the days of the French revolution. Few men have understood themselves better or been on better terms with the orbit of their existence than Ali Pacha, and as the personality of an individual is all the more striking, in proportion as it reflects the...

Plagues, assassinations and warring popes. The reign of Joan I had it all. Her domain was the Kingdom of Naples. And she held onto it for forty years, resisting everything from a Hungarian invasion to the scourge of the Black Death. Her most scandalous moment came in 1345, when her first husband was murdered. And Joan was one of the main suspects. This killing would eventually lead to Joan's dethronement and her execution. Alexandre Dumas paints a...

She was a woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six, who, unlike other women, evidently desired to appear older than she was. She was dressed in black; her hair hung in plaits; her neck, arms, and feet were bare; the belt at her waist was clasped by a large garnet which threw out sombre fires. In her hand she held a wand, and she was raised on a sort of platform which stood for the tripod of the ancients, and from which came acrid and penetrating fumes;...

On the 18th June, 1815, at the very moment when the destiny of Europe was being decided at Waterloo, a man dressed like a beggar was silently following the road from Toulon to Marseilles. Arrived at the entrance of the Gorge of Ollioulles, he halted on a little eminence from which he could see all the surrounding country; then either because he had reached the end of his journey, or because, before attempting that forbidding, sombre pass which is...

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, is revered not only for her dazzling beauty, but for the mystery of her life. Succumbing to the irresistible impulses of passion, she gambled away her throne for love. Unbelievable acts of abduction, rape, and even murder were performed at her behest; she stopped at nothing. Ultimately, the deadly game of power she played and lost against her envious cousin, Elizabeth I, cost her not only her kingdom, but also her life....

Three writings taken from 'Celebrated Crimes', a series of essays on famous criminals and crimes by the author of 'The Count of Monte Cristo' and 'The Three Musketeers', Alexandre Dumas.

This text was taken from 'Celebrated Crimes', a series of essays on famous criminals and crimes by the author of 'The Count of Monte Cristo' and 'The Three Musketeers', Alexandre Dumas, and contains the text from three of the books in the series. This volume contains books on • Beatrice Cenci, an Italian noblewoman committed of murder in the 16th century. • The Countess of Saint-Geran • Karl Ludwig Sand, convicted of murder in the early 19th...

In a morally corrupt society, where does the guilt for a crime really end? In "La Constantin", Alexandre Dumas introduces us to two women who met untimely ends—Angelique-Louise de Guerchi and Josephine-Charlotte Boullenois. While they were killed by a pair of poisoners, Dumas points the reader towards other forces that led to their deaths. Namely, the husbands and fathers who controlled their lives. A history of violence, "La Constantin" also doubles...

Fanatic. Murderer. Martyr. Karl-Ludwig Sand was all of these things and more. Alexandre Dumas delves into his fascinating story as part of the "Celebrated Crimes" series. Sand was a devout believer in German unification. At the time, Germany existed only as a loose confederation. In the name of this cause, he broke into the house of the conservative writer August von Kotzebue and stabbed him to death. Tried and executed in 1820, Sand became a nationalist...

Written by noted French author, Alexandre Dumas, "Mary Stuart" is an essay belonging to his collected title "Celebrated Crimes" which features famous criminals and crimes from European history.