Moreover, studies of selected Dumas plays, his drama criticism, his parodists, his censors, and his relationship with his collaborators figure prominently in recent volumes, including two works published under the auspices of the Société des Amis d'Alexandre Dumas (
Cent cinquante ans après [One Hundred Fifty Years Later, 1995];
Ouvres et critiques: La Réception critique de Dumas père [Works and Critiques: The Critical Reception of Dumas père, 1996]). Thus, it would seem that the time for a new appraisal of the playwright's contributions to nineteenth-century French drama may finally have come.
Thanks, in part, to works such as Henri III et sa cour (1829; translated as Catherine of Cleves, 1831), Antony, La Tour de Nesle (1832; translated as The Tower of Nesle; or, The Chamber of Death, 185"), and Kean, ou Désordre et génie (1836; translated as Edmund Kean, or The Genius and the Libertine, 1847), Alexandre Dumas père can justifiably lay claim to a place among the founding fathers of French Romantic drama. What is more, Dumas's sense of stagecraft, his ability to flesh out compelling characters caught in dramatic situations, his indefatigable energy, and his personal relationships with many of the most important actors and directors of his time make him a major figure among those of his contemporaries who sought fame and fortune in the theater.
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