La tulipe noire ne suit pas la recette habituelle d'Alexandre Dumas qui excelait à écrire des romans cap et épée avec des héros courageux et des heroines aventurières. Ici, notre héros est un botaniste savant qui dévelope une tulipe noire qui vaut une fortune tandis que l'héroine est un simple fille de bonne moeurs. C'est plat non parce que l'idée en soi est mauvaise mais parce que l'auteur n'y croit pas.
Dumas nous a donne beaucoup de libertines charmantes. L'honnete fille dans ce roman suscite aucun interet chez le lecteur. Jane Austen nous donnait des excellentes heroines blanches comme la neige parce qu'elle y croyait ce qui n'a jamais été le cas pour Dumans.

Very disappointed !!

I thought it would be more complicated, but it was very predictable and more like "Naive" !

The structure of the novel wasn't that bad, but i think I was expecting more from the writer of "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Three Musketeers"

anyway, it was old Romantic Short story .. which i needed at this busy time of year :)

Alexandre Dumas "Juodoji tulpė"

Kiekvieną kartą skaitydama klasikinės literatūros kūrinį nežinau ko gi tikėtis šį kartą. Juk neretai, tai, kas patinka vienam, gali nepatikti kitam skaitytojui. Tad, kai "Juodiji tulpė" tapo Vilniaus knygų klubo vasario mėnesio knyga, galvojau, kaip čia bus.

Jaunas Olandijos gėlininkas Kornalijus van Barle turėjo vienintelį tikslą gyvenime - išrasti paslaptingąją Juodąją tulpę. Ir tik pats likimas lėmė, jog kelias iki svajonės bus vingiuotas ir ilgas. Tad leiskimės į gyvenimo kelionę kartu su jaunuoju gėlininku ir atraskime ne tik tulpių auginimo meną, bet ir nuostabų pasakojimą.

Kaip smagu yra atrasti kokius klasikos kūrinius, kurie sukelia daug džiaugsmo. Skaičiau ir nenorėjau, jog knyga pasibaigtų. Kaip gražiai rašė ponas Alexandre Duma! Kiekvienas sakinys, mintis ir aprašymas suteikia knygai svorio ir grožio. Skaitytojui ne tik suteikiama galimybė stebėti knygoje aprašomus istorinius įvykius, vietas, bet ir susipažinti su tulpių auginimo menu bei nuostabia meilės istorija.

Skaitant kyla daug klausimų, ieškoma gyvenimo prasmės ir teisingumo. Knygos personažai įdomūs, unikalūs, svarbūs ir suteikiantys pasakojimui dar daugiau žavesio. Net nepajuntau, kaip išnyko puslapiai, o pats pasakojimas įtraukė. Likau sužavėta ir prsiminiau A. Dumas talentą sudominti, sužavėti ir priminti, kiek deaug reiškia garbė.

Labai rekomenduoju klasikinės literatūros gerbėjams, istorinių romanų mylėtojams ir visiems, kurie nori prisiminti A. Dumas kūrybą.

Alma littera Vilniaus Knygų Klubas #skaitau2023 #knygųpuslapiuose #skaitaulietuviškai #knygosapžvalga #pegasokolekcija

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. Dumas became one of my favourite authors a few years ago when I read The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers but I had not read any of his lesser-known works until now. I regret not reading The Black Tulip sooner because I enjoyed it almost as much as the two books I've just mentioned.

The book is set in seventeenth century Holland and begins with the violent murders of John and Cornelius De Witt, suspected of conspiring against the young Stadtholder, William of Orange. Our hero is the fictional godson of Cornelius De Witt, who is also called Cornelius. Cornelius Van Baerle is a keen tulip-fancier whose biggest goal in life is to produce the world's first black tulip. However, Van Baerle is not the only tulip-grower in the race for the Grand Black Tulip – and his rival Isaac Boxtel will stop at nothing to get there first!

The first few chapters put the novel in historical context and will be slightly challenging to anyone like myself, who doesn't have much knowledge of Dutch history, but if you read carefully and refer to the notes it's easy enough to follow. As soon as Dumas finishes setting the scene, the story explodes into action and never stops until the final page, taking us on a journey through the full range of human emotions – love, hatred, greed, loyalty, jealousy and obsession.

Rosa, the only female character in the book, is a jailer's daughter who falls in love with Cornelius and finds herself having to compete with the tulip for his affections. Despite making a few remarks of the "I am but a woman" variety she is otherwise a strong and quick-thinking character who does what she knows is right, even if it means going against the wishes of Cornelius or her father. The starring role in the story, though, goes to the elusive black tulip itself.

As you might have guessed, I really loved this book. If you enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo there's a good chance that you'll like this one too, as it's very similar in writing style, pace and even several plot elements. It could almost be described as a shorter, less epic, less complex version of The Count. Highly recommended.

Valamikor, kiskamasz koromban egyik kedvenc regényem volt. Érzelmi töltetű csillagozás.

Dopo i successi dei suoi capolavori più celebrati, temendo di stancare il proprio pubblico (timore vano) nel 1850 Alexandre Dumas, sempre coadiuvato dall'invisibile Auguste Maquet, decise che era giunto il momento di cambiare direzione, basta con gli interminabili feuilleton, basta con gli intricatissimi intrecci, basta con le miriadi di personaggi. Nacque così Il tulipano nero.

Nell'Olanda seicentesca, all'epoca della prima speculazione capitalistica della Storia, la cosiddetta Bolla dei Tulipani, Dumas mette in scena una storia d'amore e spionaggio, di prigionia e sabotaggio, tutta ruotante attorno al segreto per produrre il grande tulipano nero.
Ma pur trattandosi d'un romanzo storico fatto e finito che in parte rielabora temi già precedentemente scandagliati da Dumas, come l'ingiusta prigionia del protagonista, nell’ordire i suoi intrecci l'Autore è ricorso questa volta ai tòpoi della Fiaba: abbondano sino all'eccesso le coincidenze improbabili, la narrazione in più punti si fa così asciutta da sfiorare il resoconto tipico del racconto fiabesco, per poi deflagrare in un finale in cui si fa sfoggio di tutti i meccanismi narrativi fiabeschi più noti, regalando un lieto fine trionfale come quasi mai capita nei romanzi di questo Autore, sempre caratterizzati invece da un'amara conclusione.

E sebbene molti dei personaggi siano diretta emanazione della Commedia dell'Arte (dopotutto Dumas nasceva drammaturgo prima di reinventarsi romanziere, e qui di teatro ce n'è tantissimo, specialmente nei battibecchi dei due innamorati), per una volta l'Autore abbandona l'idea del superuomo al quale tutto è possibile, per plasmare in sua vece un'eroina angelicata ma piena di risorse, un'intraprendente donna di pensiero e d'azione che è al contempo oggetto dell'amore dello sventurato creatore di tulipani e soggetto promotore della fortuna di entrambi.

L'esperimento narrativo è dunque riuscito? È senza dubbio un Dumas diverso dal solito, lontano anni luce sia dalla profondità filosofica e dalla denuncia sociale del Montecristo, sia dalla complessità umana della trilogia di d'Artagnan e della Regina Margot; tuttavia per il sottoscritto è stata ugualmente una lettura deliziosa, avvincente, dallo svolgimento ahimè più prevedibile, ma a suo modo assai dilettevole.

Eppure di lì a poco Dumas tornò a sfornare immensi romanzi fiume affastellati di vicende e personaggi, tornò alla denuncia sociale, all'indagine sull'esistenza umana, alla grande rievocazione storica.
E meno male, mi permetto di aggiungere.

3.5 stars for this lesser-known work of Alexander Dumas. Set in the 17th C it is full of political intrigue Tulip fever and jealousy gone amok. The first chapters set up the political unrest in the region and introduced the ill-fated de Witte brothers and a relationship with Cornelius van Baerle. I was taken aback by the gruesomeness of a mob out of control and the blood lust that can be contagious. It gave me horrible mental images of what could have happened in the U.S on Jan 6th 2021 if the mob found their human targets. Well, I digress.
Tulip fever was bourgeoning and most of the story revolves around an obsessive and jealous Isaac Boxtel and his desire to be the cause celeb r/t Tulip growing. But alas his neighbor Cornelius has discovered and lavished a nurturing care to Tulips that has become renown in his city of Dort. Soon there is a contest with a large purse for the one who can grow a perfect black Tulip. When Isaac is thwarted in his efforts to derail Cornelius he leverages what appears to be a treasonous link with the de Wittes to get Cornelius put in prison and out of the contest. Ah not so fast!!! But you will have to read the book to find out what happens. There is a romance, a little far-fetched but it gave a chance to bring into the story a lovely heroine in the character of Rosa. She seems a weak character at first, but the character evolves and shows smarts, courage, & loyalty.

A nice blend of historical fiction, romance and adventure - just what I expect from Dumas! Rosalyn Landor did a great job narrating.

Those who have suffered much, have a right to be happy

El Tulipán Negro es la prueba definitiva de que se puede escribir una novela de aventuras en la que apenas pase nada y que, sin embargo, te tenga en vilo de principio a fin. Ha conseguido incluso que llegue medio a simpatizar con el odiado Guillermo de Orange, pese al terrible y bien contado linchamiento de los hermanos de Witt, que me ha recordado a la eficacia con que el autor describió en la Reina Margot la Matanza de la Noche de San Bartolomé. Hay pues violencia, pero, también y sobre todo, hay romance, un héroe valiente, digno y bondadoso, que, aún habiendo participado en la (una de) las guerras con Francia, no es precisamente un hombre de acción. Y después tenemos a la bella e inteligente Rosa, que es la que tiene el verdadero coraje y sostiene la trama. La forma de narrar de Dumas compone escenas, es teatro narrado, o un guión avant la lètre. Las retratos psicológicos son breves y se muestran en las acciones de los personajes más que en descripción y la reflexión. Y las acciones son incluso simples pensamientos expresados a modo de "a parte" como, ya he dicho, en el teatro. Además de una cierta crítica al poder y a la veleidad de las masas, la creatividad y el amor contra la envidia enfermiza y la mediocridad enquistada es el tema de la novela. Y el preciado tulipán negro el símbolo del triunfo de los primeros.

Esta exhibición del tulipán era un homenaje rendido por todo un pueblo sin cultura y sin gusto, al gusto y a la cultura de los jefes célebres y piadosos que sabían verter la sangre sobre el pavimento fangoso de la Buytenhoff, sin que por ello dejaran de inscribir más tarde los nombres de sus víctimas sobre la piedra más hermosa del panteón holandés.

یه رمان کلاسیک با تم عاشقانه از ادبیات فرانسه...

Entertaining, but not quite as gripping as The Count but better than Three Musketeers.