Alexandre Dumas was born in Villes-Cotterets, France, on 24th of July 1802. His father was a French nobleman born to Marquis Antoine-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie (a general in the French revolution) and Louise Cosette Dumas (an Afro-Caribbean former slave in the French colony of Santa Domingo). Alexandre Dumas' father was a general in Napoleon's army who fell out of favor. After his death in 1806 the family lived in poverty. Alexandre Dumas worked as a notary's clerk until 1823, when he went to Paris to find work. By the virtue of his elegant handwriting he earned a position with the Duc d'Orleans (later King Louis Philippe.
Dumas was an voracious reader, especially interested in plays. His writing was finally produced for the first time in 1835. La Chasse Et L'Amour opened on the 22nd of September 1835. The work was co-written by Adolphe de Leuven and P.J. Rosseau. Before 1843 Dumas wrote fifteen plays. Dumas acquired an enormous fortune through his historical novels. He produced some 250 books with his 73 assistants, particularly with the help of the history teacher Auguste Maquet, whom he wisely allowed to work independently. Dumas' works include hundreds of plays, novels, and stories. Dumas died in 1870, long before the birth of the motion picture, but his books have served as the basis for more than one hundred screen adaptations from 1898 to this day. The most famous of Alexander Dumas' writings are The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Man in the Iron Mask.