It's a very tough call from the Horticultural Society, who don't really expect anyone to pull it off. A contest offering 100 000 florins for the creator of a perfect black tulip is announced, and he rises to the challenge, pouring his heart and soul into it. He's introduced as a 'happy mortal' which extends to his tulips, since he has an incredible green thumb. Whew, once we get over that hurdle, the fun begins.Ĭornelius Van Baerle is a good-natured young doctor who enjoys a bit of gardening in his spare time. In this case, he retells a tragic event in which two noble statesmen are falsely accused of treason and savagely mauled to death by an angry mob while they attempt to flee for safety. The purpose of the tough and sad beginning is to ground the story to a real, historical event, as you'll see.

Once you've passed that point, the entertainment flows perfectly. It's a bit like shaking the plug of congealed tomato sauce from the neck of a bottle. Please don't let the somber nature of the first few chapters deter you from persevering, as I almost did more than once. Here's my most valuable tip straight off. What a madcap tale of fanaticism, passion and jealousy this one turns out to be. Dumas' last major historical novel is a tale of romantic love, jealousy and obsession, interweaving historical events surrounding the brutal murders of two Dutch statesman in 1672 with the phenomenon of tulipomania that gripped seventeenth-century Holland. Condemned to life imprisonment, his only comfort is Rosa, the jailer's beautiful daughter, and together they concoct a plan to grow the black tulip in secret. But after his powerful godfather is assassinated, the unwitting Cornelius becomes caught up in deadly political intrigue and is falsely accused of high treason by a bitter rival. 'To have discovered the black tulip, to have seen it for a moment.then to lose it, to lose it forever!'Ĭornelius von Baerle, a respectable tulip-grower, lives only to cultivate the elusive black tulip and win a magnificent prize for its creation.

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