Other editions of book Black Tulip

The Black Tulip is a historical novel written by Alexandre Dumas, père. The story begins with a historical event - the 1672 lynching of the Dutch Grand Pensionary (roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister) Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis, by a wild mob of their own countrymen - considered by many as one of the most painful episodes in Dutch history, described by Dumas with a dramatic intensity.

Craving some first-rate historical fiction? Slip into this tale of intrigue and romance from Alexandre Dumas (pere), who is regarded by critics as one of the masters of the genre. In The Black Tulip, turmoil befalls the Dutch aristocracy and the nation struggles to regain its international standing. An unusual horticulture prize is devised as a way to channel the country's attention toward something positive, and an unlikely romance blossoms as a result.

The tulip craze of seventeenth-century Holland has a dark side! Cornelius van Baerle, a wealthy but naive tulip grower, finds himself entangled in the deadly politics of his time. Cornelius's one desire is to grow the perfect black tulip. But after his godfather is murdered, he finds himself in prison, facing a death sentence. His jailer's lovely daughter holds the key to his survival and his chance to produce the precious black blossom. Yet he has one more enemy to contend with!

The story begins with a historical event—the 1672 lynching of the Dutch Grand Pensionary (roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister) Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis, by a wild mob of their own countrymen—considered by many as one of the most painful episodes in Dutch history, described by Dumas with a dramatic intensity.The main plot line, involving fictional characters, takes place in the following 18 months; only gradually does the reader understand its connection with the killing of the de Witt brothers.The city of Haarlem, Netherlands, has set a prize of ƒ100,000 to the person who can grow a black tulip, sparking competition between the country's best gardeners to win the money, honour and fame. Only the city's oldest citizens remember the Tulip Mania 30 years earlier, and the citizens throw themselves into the competition. The young and bourgeois Cornelius van Baerle has almost succeeded but is suddenly thrown into the Loevestein prison. There he meets the prison guard's beautiful daughter Rosa, who will be his comfort and help, and eventually become his rescuer.The novel was originally published in three volumes in 1850 as La Tulipe Noire by Baudry (Paris).

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.