Customer Reviews

Memoirs of a Physician

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For some odd reason there is a general confusion in the publishing world between Dumas's "Joseph Balsamo" and "Memoirs of a Physican." "Balsamo" is the first in the series of Marie Antoinette novels, "Memoirs" being the second, followed by "The Queen's Necklace", "Taking the Bastille", "The Countess de Charny", "The Chevalier de Maison Rouge", and "The Whites and the Blues". However, "Balsamo" and "Memoirs" are often confused. For instance, if one were to look on Google Books, the book that comes up for "Memoirs" is actually only the first half of "Balsamo". For quick reference then, "Balsamo" starts with the chapter titled -Introductory-, and "Memoirs" with -The Field of the Dead-, which is exactly where the former lets off. My advice - don't read the second in the series unless you've read the first, as they actually form one continuous story in two parts.

As far as a review goes, I would unflinchingly recommend any Dumas book. If you have already read "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" then I would suggest finishing the Musketeers series first. But, if hungry for more, take this series on. It has all the romance and intrigue typical of Dumas's novels, though lacks in some measure that one illimitable character which make his more popular books so well loved, a la D'Artagnan or Dantes. In return, however, it rewards you with some fun little history lessons (and, of course, that oh so wonderful elitist feeling of having read a Dumas novel most people don't even know exists).

Buy it - you'll like it.

After reading Alexandre Dumas' popular works "The Three Musketeers", "Twenty Years After", "The Vicomte de Bragellone", and "The Count of Monte Cristo", continued reading to delve into his more obscure novels is a rewarding experience. "Memoirs of a Physician" proves to be an unexpected detour from the standard type of intrigue in Dumas' most noted writings. After reading "Memoirs" one would almost find it appropriate to label the twists and turns in the aforementioned works as "shallow". In this book, the first in the series of the Marie Antoinette Romances, the reader experiences a look into darker and more sinister events which ultimately led to the French Revolution. "Memoirs of a Physician" exudes suspense, alliances and betrayals, humor, romance, longing to be and the becoming itself - all of the qualities that place Dumas' novels among the greatest works of all time.

I have done a bit of research and the news is not good. This review refers to the version of the book whose cover just has a picture of a guy with a beard. No idea who he is, but he is not the physician (Joseph Balsamo) nor is he Dumas. Anyway be careful. I rated three stars, because it's a good book even if it has a misleading title. Some people will tell you that the proper order is Joseph Balsamo then Memoirs of a Physician. That is not always something you can count on. I bought a version of Joseph Balsamo, then I bought this thing only to find that it is the same text. The closest thing you can get in English to the full version in paper back is to make sure that the second book begins with the chapter "The Field of the Dead". Even this may not take you all the way to The Queen's Necklace. I settled on reading the second book online. After reading Joseph Balsamo, I went to [...] and started reading Memoirs of a Physician vol. 2. It started in the right place but even that stopped short. So I switched to reading the version in The Works of Alexandre Dumas Vol. 7. This is about the best you can do these days. Even reading this one left a huge hole in the story. So I did more research, and I found that only one English translation has the whole story. That translator was J.M. Dent in the early 1900's published by Little Brown. It has 30 chapters that are missing from every single other English translation. You can get this from rare book shops and look for it on Ebay, but good luck. No modern version seems to have these missing chapters. These missing chapters cause a bit of confusion when readers get to later parts of the story as the missing events are referred to, and you find yourself thinking "Why is this guy an adult now?". None of the Project Gutenberg sites have them. None of the scanned versions at [...] has them. Apparently these chapters contain a rape, and not just any rape but a rape of a girl in a hypnotic trance. One day a clever on demand publisher will get hip to this deficiency and will corner the market by publishing the restored text in its entirety. Hope this helps.

So here is your best bet order wise--

1.Joseph Balsamo (ends with "the fireworks")
2.Memoirs of a Physician (Begins with "The field of the dead" ends with Epilogue--and still missing 30 chapters from the middle) online version here--[...]

3. The Queen's Necklace
4. Ange Pitou Vol 1
5. Ange Pitou Vol 2
6. The Countess De Charny
7. The Chevalier de Maison Rouge

Now to Amazon's credit, Numbers 1, and 3-7 are all available from Amazon in fairly readable versions. But it sure would be nice to get part 2 sorted out properly!!!

Enjoy

I have an older original version of this Dumas novel, that is 534 pages! It starts where Joseph Balsomo leaves off, with 'The field of the Dead'. The version for sale here, is a very shallow, condensed and actuallt re-written novel that does not represent the real novel in the least. I have learned to seek out the older copies of Dumas, they are much more complete and original.

The book is great, everything by Dumas is, but every single book published by Boomer Books is absolutely horrible. The names are mis-spelled, the punctuation is all over the place, the words are changed so they don't make any sense, it's awful. At least one typo per page and up ten. Another thing is the Boomer Books version is the first book in the series, usually the first book is called Joseph Balsamo but Joseph Balsamo is also published as the second book sometimes, so be careful.

Memoirs of a Physician begins where Joseph Balsamo left off as all Paris panics after a fireworks display goes awry and Andrée is almost crushed to death beneath the mob. Andrée's brother Phillip desperately searches for her and is feared dead - until she is returned unharmed to her family by the mysterious Balsamo. Lower born Gilbert is still madly in love with Andrée and he follows her (working as a gardener) when she is taken into service by Marie Antoinette. Madame DuBarry continues her schemes, as does the mysterious Balsamo working with the Freemasons to stir unrest against the monarchy and lustful Louis XV takes one look at the beauteous Andrée and he plots with her father to make her his latest conquest.

Actually, there's a whole lot more to the story than that but this is Dumas and it would take another novel to try to outline the story better. Suffice it to say that as in the first book in this series, the opulence and shenanigans of the French Court, the manipulations of the politicians, Balsamo's hypnotic control over his wife Lorenza and Andrée, secret rooms and hidden staircases, a mad desire by Balsamo's master to obtain the one horrific ingredient needed to complete his elixir of eternal life culminates in a thoroughly unputdownable tale that had me reading well into the wee hours of the morning. I especially loved Gilbert's antics (ROFL, Hollywood would have a field day with this) as he spied on Andrée and the way Dumas used her contempt of his lower status as a way to emphasize the growing disparity between the classes. Next up in the series, The Queen's Necklace (1902).

Side note on the first two books in this series - as I understand it they were originally published in one volume called Memoirs of a Physician and are now published separately as Joseph Balsamo and Memoirs of a Physician. I've noticed some complaints from other reviewers on the quality of editing and translation of some of these newly published editions and went searching for an older used copy and was quite happy with that.