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Wednesday 24th October 2012 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Bristol
Literary Event, Free Event
Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic adventure story which has been told and retold many times on film and television. But who was the real Count of Monte Cristo?
A forgotten French hero of the great revolutionary campaigns, General Alexandre Dumas was born in St Dominigue in 1762, the son of a French nobleman and a sugar plantation slave. He did not have an auspicious start in life, but after attending France's finest schools and fencing academies, and having enrolled in the army, soon became known as France's most handsome and strongest soldier whose legacy would live on in the novels of the son who adored him.
Tom Reiss, author of The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, casts the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and the coming of Europeans to the Middle East in a dazzling new light, while also uncovering a forgotten moment that determined the tumultuous history of race in our time. But beyond all this, he introduces the reader to one of history's most dashing forgotten heroes - perhaps the greatest unknown soldier ever.
Born in 1964, Tom Reiss is an American author and journalist who lives in New York. He is the author of The Orientalist, an acclaimed biography of Lev Nussimbaum (aka Kurban Said) which was shortlisted for the 2006 Samuel Johnson Prize. His biographical pieces have appeared The New Yorker, The New York Times and other publications.
 This event is free, but booking is required. Please visit here to book your tickets
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