The Corsican Brothers (Hesperus Classics) [Paperback]

Alexandre Dumas (Author), Sophie Lewis (Translator), Frank Wynne (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Hesperus Classics | Publication Date: January 1, 2008

An exciting tale of love, jealousy, intrigue, and a merciless vendetta, this is Dumas at his finest. A man is traveling in old Corsica, "the land of the Vendetta." He lodges with the widowed Madame Savilia de Franchi, who has twin sons: peace-loving Louis, studying law in Paris, and the savage but noble Lucien, who lives with her and is going to be "a good Corsican." Their guest learns that these two brothers, apparently so different, were in fact born conjoined; now, whenever Lucien feels pain, Louis experiences it too—no matter the distance between them. On his return to Paris, the narrator meets Louis, and is drawn into an affair that ends in tragedy and revenge.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The author's cinematic brushstrokes brilliantly bring to life the clash of cultures . . . a welcome reminder of [Dumas's] storytelling brio."  —Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

One of the most widely read French authors in the world, Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) wrote novels of high adventure that were often serialized, as well as travel literature, plays, and magazine articles on politics and culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 124 pages
• Publisher: Hesperus Press (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843911655
• ISBN-13: 978-1843911654
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,143,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasant Surprise!, July 29, 2001

By 

AvalonSilver - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Corsican Brothers: Corsica - Paris (Library Binding)

As The Corsican Brothers is one of Dumas' less popular works (I'm not sure if I should call it a novella or a short story), I expected it to be fairly dry: either very historical or very travel-oriented. It IS travel-oriented, and one CAN see the travel writer incarnation of Dumas, but it is far from boring and does not lack for interesting characters. The brothers may not have the relentless adventures of D'Artagnan, but they leap off the page and make themselves unforgettable nonetheless. There are some beautifully humorous moments as well (Dumas walks into one brother's library and checks to see if the man has any Dumas books!). If I had to compare this work to a more famous Dumas work, though, I would compare it to "A Masked Ball." Short, quick to read, using Dumas himself as narrator, and brilliant. I very much reccomend this one.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars waiting for the Count of Montecristo, March 1, 2004

By 

Riccardo Pelizzo (baltimore, maryland USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Corsican Brothers: Corsica - Paris (Library Binding)

This short novel By Alexander Dumas is nice and quite interesting in spite of the fact that the plot is not particualrly elaborated.
The plot goes more or less as follows. Dumas is a famous writer undertaking a journey in Corsica, meets one the two Corsican brothers, goes back to Paris, meets and befriends the other brother who enjoying the life Parisian high society. This second brother falls in love, has to fight in a duel and dies. The other brother who had sworn never to leave his mother and his (father)land goes to Paris and avenges the death of his beloved brother.
What is interesting is that Dumas demonstrates a phenomenal understanding of the customs and the institutions of the Corsican society. His treatment of the 'revenge' as a social institution is simply masterful.
Even more interesting is the fact that both the setting (a Mediterranean Island, Paris) and the themes (the journey, the revenge) of the Corsican Brothers are the same that Dumas adopts in the Count of Montecristo.
The reader has the impression that the Corsican Brothers is a study that Dumas made to prepare himself to write The Count of Montecristo. I think they should be read in exactly this order.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a smoother read than i had thought it would be, April 28, 2000

By 

Jonathan Lapin "fletcher rabbit" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Corsican Brothers: Corsica - Paris (Library Binding)

i had always wondered why it was near impossible to find this book, unlike the other dumas novels which had been turned into movies. the reason is apparent; the book has nothing to do with the movie, beyond the notion of sympathetic twins.

yet this is a nice read, more of a novella than a short story -- you should be able to finish it in two hours. and it gives a nice idea of that travel writer that dumas was, tho we barely know him as such. this is a good travelog of 19th century corsica (and certainly more readable than trash like thoreau's bloated "cape cod".)

don't expect d'artagnan or edmond dantes, but settle in for a pleasant afternoon's read.