Acté

Dumas, Alexandre, 1802-1870Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 396K words
Chapters: 40

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Acté by Alexandre DumasAuthor: Dumas, Alexandre, 1802-1870,Language: French, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: May 5, 2006

Editor's review

Acté is Alexandre Dumas's work on an ancient subject; the original French edition was digitized by Project Gutenberg. The story draws on court intrigues and emotional entanglements of the classical world, continuing Dumas's trademark dramatic conflict and dialogue rhythm, with dense character relationships and brisk plotting. Compared with historical adventure novels such as The Three Musketeers, this work more concentratedly presents the interweaving of power, desire, and fate, and is well suited to observing how Dumas arranges suspense and turns against an ancient backdrop. The original French preserves the language of its nineteenth-century publication and is valuable both for studying French literary narrative and for researching Dumas's creative genealogy. When reading, it can be placed alongside the author's works on similar subjects to compare his handling of historical sources and fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love Dumas's works and wish to expand their reading of his lesser-known works
French majors or literature enthusiasts with intermediate French reading ability
Researchers interested in French-style dramatic narrative on ancient subjects

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners with no French and no translation to assist them
Readers expecting only The Three Musketeers-style adventure plots

Reading tips

First learn about the ancient figures on which the work is based, then enter the text; this makes it easier to grasp character motives.
Take notes on character relationships chapter by chapter, and watch for shifts in stance revealed in dialogue and for plot foreshadowing.
Read it alongside Dumas's other historical works to compare his selection of sources and his dramatic treatment.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What kind of work is Acté within Dumas's oeuvre?

It belongs to Dumas's works drawing on ancient figures and courtly stories, with marked dramatic narrative features. It differs in subject and temperament from his famous swashbuckling adventure novels and serves as a supplementary read for understanding the breadth of his work.

What level of French is needed to read the original?

The text is nineteenth-century French, with period features in syntax and vocabulary. It suits readers with intermediate or higher French reading ability who can use dictionaries and notes to understand long sentences; beginners are advised to start with a translation or bilingual edition.

Is the Project Gutenberg edition suitable for academic citation?

The Project Gutenberg edition is convenient for access and searching the original text and can be used for reading and preliminary verification. Formal academic citation should preferentially rely on collated or authoritative editions with editors, publication information, and notes, and should state the edition source.

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About the author

Dumas, Alexandre, 1802-1870 Author

Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) was a major French novelist and playwright of the nineteenth century. The collection here holds 133 of his works, including editions in several languages, which shows how widely they have circulated. His best-known works include The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, the latter often published in volumes such as Volume III, Volume II, Volume I, and Volume IV. His writing is usually set against historical backgrounds, with intricate plots and vivid characters, and he was skilled at unfolding grand narratives in serial form, combining adventure, rivalry, and legend. Both novels have been translated into many languages and frequently issued in illustrated editions, leaving a lasting influence on popular literature and on film and television adaptations. Public information is limited, so details of his life and critical assessments are not developed here; readers may discover his narrative appeal through the works themselves.