Urbain Grandier

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

3.5

Word count: 212K words
Chapters: 22

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.Urbain Grandier by Alexandre DumasAuthor: Dumas, Alexandre, 1802-1870,Language: English, Class: HV: Social sciences: Social pathology, Social and Public Welfare, Release Date: Sep 22, 2004

Editor's review

Urbain Grandier draws on a famous seventeenth-century French case involving a clergyman; Alexandre Dumas uses his characteristic dramatic technique to weave religious controversy, local power struggles, and a judicial trial into a tense narrative. Unlike purely fictional works, the book's power comes from the absurdity and cruelty of the events themselves: when faith, politics, and crowd sentiment become entangled, the individual has almost no chance to defend himself. Dumas's approach leans toward scene-setting and dialogue-driven progression, so it reads like a historical drama, but his dramatization of the material also reminds readers to keep their distance. Project Gutenberg's English public-domain electronic edition makes it easy to search names and key events, making it a useful sample for understanding the scope of Dumas's historical source material, and suitable extended reading for those interested in early modern European judicial and religious conflicts.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a systematic interest in Dumas's historical narratives
Readers interested in early modern European religious conflict and judicial case subjects
Readers who enjoy historical dramatized narratives based on real events
Liberal arts students who need English public-domain texts for bibliographic research and textual analysis

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting light entertainment who dislike heavy subject matter
Professional historians requiring rigorous source criticism and annotated support
Readers sensitive to or easily distressed by accounts of religious trials and persecution

Reading tips

First learn about seventeenth-century French internal Catholic controversies and local power structures; the main text is easier to enter afterward.
List the key points of the trial in chronological order to see how the author organizes dramatic tension.
Mark passages that are clearly sensational or extreme, and after finishing check reliable sources to verify the boundaries of fact.
Read in comparison with other historical narratives by the same author to observe his preferences in source material and narrative patterns.

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

Was Urbain Grandier a real person?

Yes. He was a seventeenth-century French priest who was tried and executed in connection with a famous case involving accusations of demonic possession and witchcraft. Dumas's book uses that event as material for narrative elaboration; specific dialogue and scene details contain literary dramatization, so readers should distinguish the event framework from the author's elaboration.

Is this book suitable for citation as historical material?

Direct citation is not recommended. It is closer to literary narrative on a historical subject; the author selects and dramatizes material, and this electronic edition usually lacks modern scholarly annotation. For research, it should be used as a text for observing how later generations narrated the event, not as a primary historical source.

What language level is needed to read this book?

The original is in English, with sentence patterns and vocabulary carrying the old-fashioned style of nineteenth-century popular historical writing; there are many long sentences and religious and legal terms. It is better suited to readers with upper-intermediate English reading ability who are willing to look up words; beginners can first read a summary of the events and then attempt the original.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

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.