Ease Reading-Find Your Next Favorite Book

Hot Search

The Black Tulip

alexandre dumas robin buss

... Show More
'To have discovered the black tulip, to have seen it for a moment... then to lose it, to lose it forever!'

Cornelius von Baerle, a respectable tulip-grower, lives only to cultivate the elusive black tulip and win a magnificent prize for its creation. But after his powerful godfather is assassinated, the unwitting Cornelius becomes caught up in deadly political intrigue and is falsely accused of high treason by a bitter rival. Condemned to life imprisonment, his only comfort is Rosa, the jailer's beautiful daughter, and together they concoct a plan to grow the black tulip in secret.

Dumas' last major historical novel is a tale of romantic love, jealousy and obsession, interweaving historical events surrounding the brutal murders of two Dutch statesman in 1672 with the phenomenon of tulipomania that gripped seventeenth-century Holland.

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1850
Places
netherlands, dordrecht, the hague, haarlem, 

This edition

Format
246 pages, Paperback
Published
August 26, 2003 by Penguin Classics
ISBN
9780140448924
ASIN
0140448926
Language
English
Characters More characters
  • Johan de Witt

    Johan De Witt

    Johan de Witt (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjoːɦɑn də ˈʋɪt]; 24 September 1625 – 20 August 1672), lord of Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp en IJsselvere, was a Dutch statesman and a major political figure in the Dutch Republic in the mid-17th c...

  • Cornelis de Witt

    Cornelis De Witt

    ...

  • William III of England and II of Scotland

    William Iii Of England And Ii Of Scotland

    William III of England and II of Scotland (1650 – 1702) was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672, he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overijssel of the ...

  • Cornelius van Baerle

    Cornelius Van Baerle

    ...

  • Rosa Gryphus

    Rosa Gryphus

    ...

  • Gryphus

    Gryphus

    ...

More editions

About the author

Profile Image for alexandre dumas

alexandre dumas

... Show More
This note regards Alexandre Dumas, père, the father of Alexandre Dumas, fils (son). For the son, see Alexandre Dumas fils.

Alexandre Dumas, père (French for "father", akin to Senior in English), born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a French writer, best known for his numerous historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world. Many of his novels, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne were serialized. Dumas also wrote plays and magazine articles, and was a prolific correspondent.

Dumas was of Haitian descent and mixed-race. His father, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) to Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie, a French nobleman, and Marie-Cessette Dumas, a black slave. At age 14 Thomas-Alexandre was taken by his father to France, where he was educated in a military academy and entered the military for what became an illustrious career.

Dumas's father's aristocratic rank helped young Alexandre Dumas acquire work with Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, then as a writer, finding early success. He became one of the leading authors of the French Romantic Movement, in Paris.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Readers also enjoyed

Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
34(34%)
4 stars
30(30%)
3 stars
36(36%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
PedroDelgado
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
3.5 ⭐️

This book had such an interesting setting with tulip mania and political unrest/intrigue. I really enjoyed the writing style, although I found it very predictable and didn’t feel super attached to any of the characters. It was a fun ride and I enjoyed my time with it.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
HappyG
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
A Historical Novel set in the late 1600's, the Historical part takes place over the first 4 chapters about the lynching of the Dutch Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelius by a wild mob of their own countrymen.

The main plot line, takes place about a year and a half later, and turns into a charming romantic love story and a competition which offers a prize of 100,000 guilders for the success of a growing a Black Tulip. Just at the point where the black tulip is well on its way to coming into existence Cornelius is arrested and thrown into prison. Isaac Boxtel, Cornelius' neighbor is jealous of his success in growing the tulip and does and tries everything to steel the bulb.

Rosa, the beautiful daughter of the horrible prison-keeper and Cornelius fall in love. The Black Tulip bulb is a symbol for love that develops under perfect conditions, in the rich soil and with the right amount of attention. As it develops, it is unstoppable and envy has no place here. It does not give up when there is a struggle. It is worth fighting for the innocence of it all.

The hero? Rosa!

Dumas takes us on a journey of emotions – love, hatred, greed, loyalty, jealousy and obsession and ends with 'I am too happy.'
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
bufi_
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
3.5

Clásico histórico romántico francés, donde en Holanda se gesta una aparente sencilla historia del triángulo amoroso entre doncella - sabio obsesionado - y un tulipán ...

«Encontraba a Rosa bonita como todos los amores de la Tierra; la hallaba buena, graciosa, encantadora.

tMas ¿por qué Rosa prohibía que se hablara del tulipán?

tEsta era una gran falta que Rosa cometía. t

Cornelius se dijo, suspirando, que la joven no era absolutamente perfecta.»


Ah, y no olvides el hasta donde puede llegar la envidia. Personajes villanos y obsesionados también, pero unidimesionales hay que decirlo.

Con la apertura de un hecho histórico real y la violenta muerte por la turba -y un manejo politico de cuerdas- de dos personajes pro-republicanos: Jean y Corneille de Witt en 1672, inicia una de esas intrigas de cartas comprometedoras y prisionero injustamente apresado, que termina siendo una declama por el amor de la pureza de esa obra de Dios que son las flores, y por sobre todo los tulipanes (en medio de una tulipo-manía que afectaba su valor por las nubes). La simpatía de Dumas por la tragedia de los de Witt es evidente.

El lenguaje derrocha halagos por flores y virtud cristiana.

n  n

Nous sommes les filles du feu secret,
Du feu qui circule dans les veines de la terre;
Nous sommes les filles de l'aurore et de la rosée,
Nous sommes les filles de l'air,
Nous sommes les filles de l'eau;
Mais nous sommes avant tout les filles du ciel.


Por otra parte, se agradece y no deja de sorprender que la doncella sencilla y humilde , no deja de tener su ingenio y hasta iniciativa a diferencia de otras heroinas romanticas por ahi. Rosa , la bella frisona de cabellos dorados, va además contra el común que los de su clase eran orangistas en su época.

n  n

Mientras Cornelius van Baerle , burgues adinerado, es un sabio que sigue las palabras de Dios , sin preocuparse demasiado de las mundanas. El hecho de haber participado en una de las grandes batallas navales le ampara un poco el derecho a sumergirse en bulbos de tulipanes. Pero para nada se compara a un Edmundo Dantes, ni siquiera a un Aramis.

Novela corta que carece de la complejidad intrigante , a la par de personajes de sus otras novelas. Sin embargo, hay una suave ironia detrás que deja entrever el colchón de futileza de los burgueses que prosiguen lujos efimeros como cúlmine de su vida después de haber vivido cruentas guerras religiosas . . . o tal vez como un rey ambicioso al fin consiguió lo que quería (Guillermo de Orange luego fue rey de Inglaterra). .. Eh, eso queda a juicio del lector.

«Despreciar las flores es ofender a Dios».
t«Cuanto más bella es la flor, más al despreciarla se ofende a Dios».
t«El tulipán es la más bella de todas las flores».
t«Por lo tanto, quien desprecia al tulipán ofende desmesuradamente a Dios».

0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
PopulousCrane
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
:در مورد این کتاب در سایتی این توضیح نوشته شده بود

الكساندر دوما اين داستان را در مورد وضعيت سياسي هلند در سال ۱۶۷۲ نوشته است و در نوشتن آن از زندگي واقعي "جان" و "كورنليوس دوويت" كه هر دو به اعدام محكوم شدند، الهام گرفته است

داستان تقریبا کوتاهی درباره مردی که پرورش دهنده ی گُل است .وی لاله جدیدی
...می کارد تا در مسابقه زیباترین گُل پیروز گردد

لاله سیاه اسم زیبا و با معنایی است برای رویدادهای کتاب



عاشق این نوع گل لاله هستم
اما راستش نمیدونم اسم رنگش چیه!؟
هر رنگی که باشه فوق العاده است

0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
GenesisAria
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
کتابی بود که جذبتون می کنه به خوندن ولی پراز وراجیِ نویسنده و داستانی به شدت کلیشه

ولی جدا از خودِ کتاب ترجمهِ خیلی خوبی شده بود
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
TrashMan
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
" إنني أرى شيئاً واحداً...
ماذا ترين ؟
أرى إنك تحب زنابقك إلى حد إنه ليس من متسع في قلبك لأي حب آخر .."
وبالرغم من أن " كورنيليوس" كان مهوساُ بحب الزنابق ولكن هذا لا يمنع بأن تتشارك معها قلبه الجميلةُ "روز"....
وطبعاً بانتظارك النهايات السعيدة التي لا تعرف طريقها بالواقع....
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Sirch456
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
و لـكم أعشق ورود التوليب ، و بمجرد تخيل وجود وردة توليب فاحمة السواد يثير في قلبي البهجة
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
RhythmusByte
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
Faux pas

Dumas, dramma storico, Secolo d'oro olandese, la bolla dei tulipani, l'ascesa al potere degli Orange, cosa potrebbe andare storto?

E invece, forse a causa della brevità che non consente il solito ampio dipanarsi della trama e il lavoro sui personaggi, il romanzo è una sequela di coincidenze impossibili senza capo nè coda, cui nemmeno un appassionato come il sottoscritto riesce a credere, un sovrappiù di spiegoni introduttivi di ogni capitolo, nei quali il distratto acquirente del feuilletton originale ritrovava il filo del discorso, ma al lettore del libro danno più noia della peronospora.

La storia avrebbe consentito mille divagazioni dumasiane doc, ad esempio un pittore che dipinge per qualche personaggio un ritratto alla Hals o una scena di genere alla Vermeer, peccato solo che ai tempi di Dumas il Seicento olandese non godesse degli attuali riconoscimenti (anche se a un certo punto compaiono il nome di Frans Van Mieris e Gerrit Dou). Invece, in 200 economiche paginette conosciamo sostanzialmente solo la vicenda dei due protagonisti (relativamente interessanti) e di un pugno di comprimari.

Prima o poi doveva capitare un Dumas scarserello.
0 0 Reply
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.