Caligula by Alexandre Dumas
Written in 1837, Caligula is one of the best nineteenth-century plays set in ancient Rome. The story of the mad, tyrannical Emperor Caligula, who reigned four years before being assassinated, is familiar to modern readers and viewers, but this version includes some new twists. Dumas makes Caligula less frightening than in real life, although he certainly qualifies as a villainous dictator bent on his own pleasure. He plans to rape his milk-sister, an early Christian, and eventually kills her for refusing him. Dumas introduces the legend of the Three Mary's, who supposedly landed in France shortly after the Crucifixion; some variations on this legend even have Jesus surviving his execution. The play was written in verse, but is here presented in prose. A fast-moving, attention-grabbing play that seems as modern now as when it was first presented on the stage.
Alexandre Dumas was born July 24, 1802, at Villiers-Cotterets, France, the son of Napoleon's famous mulatto general, Dumas. Alexandre Dumas began writing at an early age and saw his first success in a play he wrote entitled Henri III et sa Cour (1829). A prolific author, Dumas was also an adventurer and took part in the Revolution of 1830. Dumas is most famous for his brilliant historical novels, which he wrote with collaborators, mainly Auguste Maquet, and which were serialized in the popular press of the day. His most popular works are The Three Musketeers(1844), The Count of Monte Cristo (1844-45), and The Man in Iron Mask (1848-50). Dumas made and lost several fortunes, and died penniless on on December 5, 1870.
Joachim Neugroschel has won three PEN translation awards and the French-American translation prize. He has also translated Thomas Mann's Death in Venice and Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs, both for Penguin Classics. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Joachim Neugroschel has won three PEN translation awards and the French-American translation prize. He has also translated Thomas Mann's Death in Venice and Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs, both for Penguin Classics. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781434445216 |
| ISBN 10 | 1434445216 |
| Title | Caligula |
| Author | Alexandre Dumas |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Wildside Press |
| Year published | 2012-08-23 |
| Number of pages | 198 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |