The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

So much happens in this week's reading. It is a rollercoaster ride to be sure.

Rosa is described by Dumas as, "...one of those women who are dejected by trifles, but who in great emergencies are supplied by the misfortune itself with the energy for combating or with the resources or remedying it." She is a great character to have on your side as evidenced by the lengths she goes to for Cornelius. Did her journey and meeting(s) with Van Systens and the prince surprise you at all? Did it seem realistic given she was an (almost) illiterate female peasant up against and educated male landowner?

Poor Cornelius, after his struggle with Gryphus he just knew he was going to be executed. He's had more than his share of ups and downs in this book and yet it doesn't seem to have hardened him, angered him to an extent to be sure. Even though this story occurred over a short period of time I would have thought the prison experience would have changed Cornelius, hardened him. What are your thoughts?

Prince William certainly stepped up in this, the last part of the book. I don't understand his change of heart with regard to Cornelius and John de Witt, can anyone enlighten me?

I like the fact that we had a happy ending... the bad guy got his, the lovers are reunited, they received the prize money and recognition as the growers of the black tulip, they were married and had children. What did you think of the ending?

I also didn't understand how the papers proved that the de Witts were innocent. They proved Van Baerle's innocence, that's clear, but I guess I didn't understand well enough about what it meant for the others.

Maybe prison would have affected Cornelius more if Rosa hadn't been there. As it was, he almost always had either her or the tulip, or both.

It seems like the Prince regretted that he didn't intervene with the de Witts. In the musketeer series and some of his other novels, Dumas makes the royal figures relatively admirable, yet in real life, he was certainly for a republic.

It sure was convenient that Boxtel popped off, otherwise he would have kept coming back for revenge, and living next door, he would have been a constant threat. (Or maybe he could have been imprisoned for stealing the tulip? it would have been fitting to send him to the same prison that Gryphus ran.)

It was sort of cruel that Cornelius didn't know till the last minute that he wasn't going to be executed. The Prince made a big deal about Rosa getting new clothes but poor Cornelius must have been a pitiful sight in the same clothes he had worn all through prison and after the fight with Gryphus.

I liked how Rosa was a heroine who took action and rescued her man, rather than the other way around.

Robin wrote: "I liked how Rosa was a heroine who took action and rescued her man, rather than the other way around."

Same here. Dumas often (not in every book) does a better job with female characters than, say, Dickens.

Dumas's style reminds me more of Walter Scott, with the over-the-top drama, historical aspects, complex royals, and sometimes heroic women. Great fun, even if the coincidences make the events unrealistic.

Yes, Dumas is in the romantic school in the sense of larger-than-life events and lots of drama. The theatrical side came out again when he described the prince looking at the 3 main characters forming a triangle before he announced about the winning tulip.

I am looking at leading a series read of the Musketeer books starting around Aug-Sep, reading maybe 50 pages per week. I will investigate editions that are available that have all the material of the last 4 books. I'll send an inquiry this summer to all our members to see if there is enough interest.

Robin wrote: "I am looking at leading a series read of the Musketeer books starting around Aug-Sep, reading maybe 50 pages per week. I will investigate editions that are available that have all the material of t..."

That sounds great. I ended up with the Oxford World's Classic versions for the later books, but maybe there are better versions out there now. I had a hard time finding complete versions of the later books, and I haven't read them yet, so I don't know how good they are. I have the Bantam Classics edition for The Three Musketeers, which is very complete and readable. Of the three translations I've tried, that was the best by far.

It was nice reading a book with a happy ending for a change. The good people get to live happily ever after, and the bad guys don't.

The behavior of William of Orange was a little inconsistent, and a modern editor would probably have made Dumas tidy that up a bit. People are irrational and inconsistent at times, and they do sometimes regret their actions or change their minds, so maybe that was Dumas's intent all along.

I predicted that Prince William would turn out to be a villain, but I was completely wrong. He seemed to be impressed with Rosa. Was it her eloquence and fierce determination, her beauty, or the fact that she was a Frisian like his dogs that impressed him most? Rosa’s masterstroke was to produce the third bulb and with it the note that exonerated Cornelius.

Apart from producing the black tulip bulbs, Cornelius did very little in this story apart from languish in jail. It was Rosa who was the main protagonist from the moment she advised the de Witt brothers to leave as quickly as possible. Cornelius did help her to learn to read and it seemed amazing how quickly she conquered her illiteracy enough to stand up to the might of the Prince and the Dutch Tulip Growers Association.

If I was Cornelius I wouldn’t want Rosa’s dad hanging around the tulips or anywhere near me at all. He could be the type to take his revenge at any time despite Cornelius being his son-in-law. At the very least I would keep the drinks cabinet locked up.

Did Dumas become a disillusioned Republican? In this story he writes scathingly about Robespierre and makes Prince William a hero. In his later life Dumas leaves France altogether to go and live in Italy.

Trev wrote: "Cornelius did very little in this story apart from languish in jail. It was Rosa who was the main protagonist from the moment she advised the de Witt brothers to leave as quickly as possible."

I hadn't noticed that, but now that you point it out... you're absolutely right!