Born the son of a military man, Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) was a voracious reader from early childhood. After the untimely death of his father, his mother regaled him with tales of his father's adventures in battle.
The realm of heroic acts and romance had a strong appeal for the young Dumas, and he began his writing career with several plays. After the success of his dramas, Dumas moved into novels, becoming well-known for such works as The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Man in the Iron Mask. Although it might be hard to guess from his current and long-lived popularity, Dumas faced considerable adversity for being of a mixed-race background and, sadly, was never fully accepted into many intellectual and society circles during his lifetime.