The Black Tulip - Brossura

A classic of historical fiction by Alexandre Dumas, The Black Tulip follows the events surrounding the lynching in the Netherlands of the Grand Pensionary - the holder of the country's highest political office.

An intense yet well-researched book, in writing The Black Tulip Dumas sought to convey with emotion and shock the aftermath one of the most terrible episodes of Dutch history. He constructs an elaborate plot with fictional characters who live in the city of Haarlem which is conducting a competition to see who can grow an authentic black tulip.

As a result of the prize offered, and an elder citizen's memory of the Tulip Mania which had enveloped Holland decades earlier, the citizenry enthusiastically make efforts to propagate the black tulip. The affluent and diligently sympathetic Cornelius van Baerle almost succeeds, but is thwarted in his task, in the process setting up a dramatic meeting and rescue.

The entire tale plays out over the course of the eighteen months following the killing of the Grand Pensionary and his brother. The events depicted and their significance to the horrific lynching, only become clear toward the tense and dramatic conclusion.

Adapted into productions for radio and the screen in the years since its original publication, The Black Tulip remains one of Dumas lesser-known but nevertheless strongly appreciated novels.