茶花女的英文简介

La Dame aux camélias

[Francesco Maria Piave's libretto for La traviata is based upon the novel La Dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The following article traces the creation of that work. - NMR]

Alexandre Dumas, fils (son), born in Paris in 1824, is considered one of the foremost French dramatists of the nineteenth century. He was the illegitimate son of Alexandre Dumas, pére (father), the author of such novels as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.

Dumas was raised by his seamstress mother, Catherine Labay, until his father legally recognized him and assumed responsibility for his care. He attended college but left before receiving a degree. His illegitimacy caused him much unhappiness, both in private school and in college where he had few friends. At age seventeen, he moved in with his father, soon adopted his extravagant lifestyle and fell into debt. At the theatre one evening he first saw Marie Duplessis, already