Secret of who killed Nelson exposed in lost Dumas novel

Middle East Times ^ | March 23, 2005 | Hugh Schofield

[nickcarraway]

PARIS -- The mystery of who killed Admiral Nelson is to be explained in a previously unknown novel by Alexandre Dumas, author of The Three Musketeers, discovered by a French researcher and going on sale in June, the book's publisher said on Tuesday.

Le Chevalier de Sainte-Hermine (The knight of Saint-Hermine) is a classic Dumas adventure story about the start of the Napoleonic empire and includes a swashbuckling account of the battle of Trafalgar, according to Jean-Pierre Sicre of Phebus press.

"The description of Trafalgar is indescribably brilliant. And in it we learn that it is the hero of the book - the chevalier himself - who shoots Nelson," he said.

The British naval commander, Horatio Nelson, led the English fleet in its victory over the French and Spanish off the cape of Gibraltar in 1805, but died on board his flagship when he was hit by a bullet from an unknown French sniper.

The 900-page book appeared in serial form in a French newspaper and lacked just a few chapters when Dumas died in 1870. Claude Schopp, the Dumas specialist who made the discovery, has added a short section to bring the tale to its conclusion.

"The first clue goes back to 1988," said Schopp.

"I was trying to check a detail for an article and after months of research had to look through copies of Le Moniteur Universel. Imagine my surprise when among the spools of microfiche I came across an almost completed serial signed Alexandre Dumas," he said.

"For a quarter of an hour, in contact with this treasure, I had the feeling I had the world in my hands," he said.

Le Chevalier de Sainte-Hermine completes a trilogy of works set in the aftermath of the French revolution, which begins with Les Compagnons de Jehu - written in 1857 - and continues with Les Blancs et Les Bleus, completed in 1867.

The chevalier is an aristocrat - the brother of two men who are killed in the previous books - who is caught between his royalist past and his fascination with the emerging Napoleonic Empire.

The opening lines of the novel are classic Dumas:

"'Here we are in the Tuileries,' said first consul Bonaparte to his first secretary Bourrienne, as they entered the palace where Louis XVI made his penultimate residence between Versaille and the scaffold. 'We must make certain that we stay here.'"

The grandson of a Haitian slave, Dumas was a hugely prolific writer, producing more than 250 works including plays, novel and even a cookbook. He remains today the most widely read French writer around the world. He died in 1870 at the age of 68.

In November 2002 the writer was accorded the highest posthumous honor when his body was interred in the Pantheon in Paris, the mausoleum of French national heroes.

Dumas' specialty - perfected in The Three Musketeers - was inserting fictional characters into true historical stories, and the account of Trafalgar is far from the first time his heroes interfere in Anglo-French relations.

In The Three Musketeers the evil Englishwoman Milady is responsible for the 1628 murder of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, in the port of Portsmouth; and in the sequel Twenty years after the musketeers are present at - but fail to prevent - the execution of King Charles I.

The existence of Le Chevalier de Sainte-Hermine was kept secret for years as Schopp worked on the text, which contained many mistakes and inconsistencies. Publication is due on June 3.

[peyton randolph]

By re-arranging every fifth letter of Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code," one can readily ascertain that Nelson was killed by Robert Langdon using a time machine. ;-)

[sodpoodle]

Good Lord. I went to school with Sally Ann Henrietta Hamilton - I must find her phone number - She has waited all these years.

Oh dang - a French author, mais non!

[dinok]

Three Musketeers was the first book I remember reading as a kid all by myself. I think I read it four times between 1st and 2nd grade. The characters may have been French...but they were French when the French were still men.

[SF Republican]

My favorite part of the story is when he was killed they put him in a keg of rum to preserve him for a state funeral when they returned to London.

[schu]

The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic, long, but a wonderful book. Dumas could really tell a story.

[okie01]

The characters may have been French...but they were French when the French were still men.

With wigs, wearing silk finery and lace. But real men, nonetheless.

[dinok]

"With wigs, wearing silk finery and lace. But real men, nonetheless"

Hey...whatever it takes to get chicks...ha ha

[Blue Screen of Death]

With wigs, wearing silk finery and lace. But real men, nonetheless.

I saw a version of Star Wars dubbed in French. Even Darth Vader sounded gay. You just can not speak that language without sounding like you polish your loafers daily.

[JenB]

"Monte Cristo" is my favorite book of Dumas' works. I liked everything but the ending - I felt so sorry for Mercedes, I wanted her to have a happy ending too.

[Argus]

With wigs, wearing silk finery and lace

Don't get saucy with me, Bearnaise!

[finnigan2]

" Dumas could really tell a story."

"Here we are in the Tuileries,' said first consul Bonaparte to his first secretary Bourrienne, as they entered the palace where Louis XVI made his penultimate residence between Versaille and the scaffold. 'We must make certain that we stay here.'"

- Given that the above is supposedly the first sentence from this "lost masterpiece", you've got to be kidding, right? It's the closest thing to, "It was a dark and stormy night" that I've ever read.

[schu]

Mercedes got her justice. She refused to deal in reality, her's was a comparatively light sentence, however.

[tet68]

Bonapart was telling his secretary that they must not
end up on the gibbet.

[JenB]

Reality? Some people can wait for a lifetime for someone to come back. Some people can't. She was completely alone and Fernand played on her loneliness. I still feel sorry for her.

[mylife]

The Count of Monte Cristo was fabulous.

The latest film version is one of my favorite films

[fish hawk]

Mercedes jumped in bed with the first General that came along and on top of that didn't see to it that Edmond's father was fed and taken care of. She got off easy, besides she got old and the Count now needed a younger prettier girl. That's life.

[schu]

Ahh, the women's perspective, always a second chance! No disrespect intended, BTW.

She got what was coming to her, she knew the Count was being framed, but did nothing about it. She took the easy way out, even when he showed up, she would not make the break. The Count owed her nothing, but I believe he still loved her.

[Androcles]

Quiet you fool! Next you'll be telling everyone how Cleopatra's Needle is actually the Templar's last rocket.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Note: this topic is from 3/31/2005. Thanks nickcarraway. Blast from the Past. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.