KarlLudwig Sand, Alexandre Dumas
KarlLudwig Sand, Alexandre Dumas
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Karl-Ludwig Sand
Celebrated Crimes, Book 5

Author: Alexandre Dumas

Narrator: Robert Bethune

Unabridged: 2 hr 20 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/29/2014


Synopsis

To paraphrase the note from the translator, The Celebrated Crimes of Alexandre Dumas père was not written for children. The novelist has spared no language—has minced no words—to describe violent scenes of violent times.

In this, the fourth of the series, Dumas tells the story of Karl-Ludwig Sand, a man little known to the English-speaking world, but famous among German speakers; he was the man who assassinated August von Kotzebue, a vigorous advocate of Russia's interests and the interests of the Austrian Empire.

In the years immediately following the fall of Napoleon, many people in Germany, particularly young people, were eagerly anticipating the coming of liberal goverment. Much to their dismay, the autocratic governments existing before the war were not only re-established, but put great energy to ensuring that a liberal revolution would never happen. Karl-Ludwig Sand, a young German student, became convinced that Kotzebue was the key figure in this wave of repression. He made up his mind to kill the man, and kill him he did.

Dumas gives us an intimate and revealing portrait of Sand's intellectual and emotional development, tracing with the hand of a master novelist the development of the character not of a fiction, but of an actual man. It is particularly interesting because Dumas, quite the advocate of liberal government himself, is clearly sympathetic toward Sand, though he clearly portrays the brutality of the murder of Kotzebue and the unstable trend of sand's mind leading up to it. In particular, through extensive transcriptions of Sand's journals and letters, he shows how this deeply Christian man became a deeply Christian assassin.

Enjoy!

About Alexandre Dumas

Alexandre Dumas was one of the most famous and prolific French writers of the nineteenth century, producing some 250 books. He is best known for his historical novels The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, and he was among the first authors to fully exploit the possibilities of roman feuilleton, or "serial novel." Dumas is credited with revitalizing the historical novel in France. His works are riveting, fast-paced adventure tales that blend history and fiction. A master of dialogue and character development, Dumas composed some of the most emulated teaser scenes for his suspenseful chapter endings.

Dumas was born in Villes-Cotterêts in 1802. His father was a general in Napoleon's army, but after he died, the family lived in poverty. Dumas worked as a notary's clerk until 1823, when he went to Paris to seek his fortune. Because of his elegant handwriting, he secured a position with the Duc d'Orleans, who later became King Louis Philippe. He also wrote for the theater and published some obscure magazines. Dumas lived as adventurously as the heroes in his books, taking part in the revolution of July 1830. He later caught cholera during the epidemic of 1832 and traveled to Italy to recuperate.

Dumas married his mistress, the actress Ida Ferrier, in 1840, but he soon separated after having spent her entire dowry on the construction of the fantastic château Montecristo on the outskirts of Paris. In 1855 Dumas was forced to escape his creditors and spent two years in exile in Brussels. In 1858, he traveled to Russia, and in 1860 he went to Italy, where he supported Garibaldi and Italy's struggle for independence. He remained in Naples as a museum keeper for four years. After his return to France, his debts continued to mount. Called "the King of Paris," Dumas earned fortunes and spent them on friends, art, and mistresses. Dumas died of a stroke on December 5, 1870, at Puys, near Dieppe. His illegitimate son, Alexandre Dumas (Jr.), became a writer, dramatist, and moralist.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Asaria on June 10, 2018

To już oficjalne- Henryk Pijanowski dołącza do grona moich ulubionych lektorów audiobooków. Podejrzewam, że tak wysoka nota to częściowo jego zasługa. Nie wiem dlaczego, ale lubię te mniej znane powieści Dumasa. Może warsztatowo bardziej kuleją, ale mnie jakoś bardziej przypadają do serca. Zwłaszcza......more

Goodreads review by Paul on April 26, 2023

Thankfully this book has only a few characters. For me that is a plus. Written using archives and first person witnesses, it's a really interesting read. Slightly obsessive, from a religious family Sand a theology student murdered, August von Kotzebue a famous dramatist for his disparaging remarks a......more

Goodreads review by James on December 22, 2016

Despite the blaring mistakes if the version I read where the translator kept using the letter A instead of O for certain words, this was an excellent book to read. The first half can equally be placed into any period of a person witnessing tragedy, war and conflict whose views then became warped and......more