The discovery of Dumas's last, incomplete novel, lost and completely unknown to historians for more than a century, was a literary bombshell. The Last Cavalier is Dumas's swan song, a rousing adventure that completes his epic retelling of French history from the Renaissance (La Reine Margot) to his present day (The Count of Monte Cristo) by filling in that one vital, dramatic era that was missing: the Age of Napoleon.
A tale of family honor and heroic derring-do, The Last Cavalier follows the fortunes of young Hector, Count de Sainte-Hermine, who has sworn an oath to avenge his Royalist family members' deaths by fighting against Napoleon. When he is defeated, he is sentenced to serve as a common soldier in Napoleon's imperial forces. Though he courts death fearlessly, Hector's daring deeds will change his destiny--and Napoleon's.
It is rousing, big spirited, its action sweeping across oceans and continents, its hero gloriously indomitable. This newly discovered last novel of Alexandre Dumas, lost for 125 years in the archives of the National Library in Paris, completes the Dumas oeuvre.
About the Author :
Alexandre Dumas was a French writer, best known for his historical adventure novels. His most famous works include The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, which have become staples in the Western literary canon. Dumas was a prolific author who utilized elements of Romanticism and Realism to create exciting narratives that often featured larger-than-life characters engaging in thrilling exploits and adventures. Simon Prebble, a British-born performer, is a stage and television actor and veteran narrator of some three hundred audiobooks. As one of AudioFile's Golden Voices, he has received thirty-seven Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie in 2010. He lives in New York.
Review :
"A hit from the vaults: Dumas pere's final work--a grand tale of adventure. A big book, and a pleasure for anyone who thrills at the likes of D'Artagnan and company."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"Dumas deserves to be read alongside Dickens and Tolstoy as an influential, enduring writer! The Last Cavalier is pure, distilled Dumas in its conception, its obsessions and in its art."
-- "Glasgow Herald"
"It's absolutely wonderful. I finished The Last Cavalier in a day. These 800 pages almost turn themselves. Alexander Dumas remains, now as ever, the Napoleon of storytellers."
-- "Washington Post"
"James Bond, Indiana Jones, and many others owe a deep debt to Dumas, who stuffs his tales with thrilling exploits and exotic locales. No one with a pulse will be able to resist Dumas's lost classic."
-- "Christian Science Monitor"
"Reviews have been unanimous in praising The Last Cavalier: The novel is a reminder that readers are always willing to make time for epic storytelling when the narrative is in the hands of a master."
-- "Los Angeles Times"
"Wonderfully vivid and intelligent! I am delighted it has been rediscovered, and delighted to find that so much of Dumas' magic still exerts its spell in this work from his last years."
-- "The Scotsman (Edinburgh)"
"[This] is the rousing tale of Hector, Compte Sainte-Hermine...His exciting life is narrated by Simon Prebble...[who] maintains both the breakneck speed of the battles and the thoughtful pastoral descriptions of European countryside...Highly recommended for its admirable main character."
-- "SoundCommentary.com (starred review)"
"Vintage Dumas...enough adventure and intrigue to satisfy the most demanding reader."
-- "Library Journal"
