The Black Tulip

Alexandre Dumas

The Black Tulip — Against the backdrop of the de Witt brothers' downfall, Alexandre Dumas follows Cornelius van Baerle, an innocent tulip grower accused of political conspiracy. He dreams of producing a black tulip and winning the Haarlem Horticultural Society's prize of one hundred thousand guilders. Imprisoned before he can bring his flower into bloom, he finds hope in Rosa, the jailer's daughter, who helps him pursue his dream. Set decades after the tulip mania of the 1630s, the novel opens with the mob killing of Johan and Cornelius de Witt. Love for Rosa and devotion to his tulip become intertwined with Cornelius's efforts to prove his innocence and foil his jealous rival Boxtel. First published in French in three volumes in 1850, the novel is presented here in the English edition published by P. F. Collier & Son in 1902.

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