Saturday 6 June 2020

Book Review: The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas (Classic)

Title:
The Black Tulip

Author: Alexandre Dumas
Publisher: Dover Publications
Publication Date: 15 September 2017 (1850)
Pages:
352
Format:
Paperback
Genre:
Classic
Source:
Xmas Gift

 


A prize of 100,000 guilders awaits the gardener who can produce a black tulip, a rich reward that incites a bitter competition in 17th-century Holland. Cornelius von Baerle, a gifted and passionate florist, has dedicated himself to cultivating the elusive flower. But a ruthless rival, capitalizing on accusations that led to the assassination of Cornelius's godfather, falsely accuses the young horticulturist of treason. Sentenced to life imprisonment, Cornelius conspires with his jailer's daughter to grow the black tulip in secret.


The Black Tulip is an enjoyable historical adventure-romance tale. It's easy, quick reading, and at a shorter page count than some of his other books, it might be a good place to start if you are coming to Dumas' works for the first time and find hefty tomes too intimidating. The romance is a little forced, but the plot is engaging and held my interest from start to finish. The story moved at a good pace to keep me turning the pages, and overall I closed this one feeling satisfied with my reading experience.

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