French novelist and playwright Auguste Maquet (1813–1888) collaborated for a long time with Dumas père, helping him in the creation of many well-known novels. Maquet was also the author of his own works. His novel "The Beautiful Gabrielle" is a continuation of Dumas's famous trilogy about the Huguenot wars, which ended with the novel "Forty-Five." Maquet's vivid adventure novel, where the main character is the mistress of Henry IV, Gabrielle d'Estrées, became the logical conclusion of Dumas's trilogy. Readers can expect to meet familiar characters in it. The pre-revolutionary translation edited by SZKEO in this edition is adorned with illustrations by French artists, allowing readers to vividly imagine the color of that era.
At the famous Parisian cemetery Père Lachaise, on one of the high tombstones, in a round medallion, there is a bust of a man with a high forehead holding a piece of paper. On the left, the names of famous novels are carved in stone: "The Three Musketeers," "Twenty Years After," "The Count of Monte Cristo," "Queen Margot." However, this is not a monument to Alexandre Dumas. The dates of birth and death below are quite different: 1813–1888. Here lies the ashes of his faithful assistant and talented novelist Auguste Maquet.
The future writer was born in Paris and received an education at the famous lycée of Charlemagne. Maquet showed his talents early on. At the age of 18, he became a professor of history and remained a teacher at the lycée he had just graduated from. However, the dry listing of names and dates from the lectern did not particularly captivate the capable young man. His friends at the lycée were the poets Théophile Gautier and Gérard de Nerval, who inhabited entirely different realms, living solely for literature. When Maquet turned 25, he tried his hand at fiction and wrote a play. It turned out to be clearly weak for staging, and then Nerval showed it to Dumas, with whom he was acquainted. Dumas, with a masterful hand, went through the text, and the play came alive in completely new colors; it premiered in 1839 at the "Renaissance" theater.
Thus began the literary collaboration between the great Dumas and history professor Maquet. Auguste dug into archives, searching for dates, names, facts, and brought Dumas whole pieces of chapters he had written. The elder Dumas rewrote much in his own way, breathing life into Maquet's texts. Only Dumas's name appeared on the covers of the released novels. Maquet remained in the shadows. He participated in the creation of such novels as "The Three Musketeers," "The Countess de Monsoreau," "The Vicomte de Bragelonne," and several others. The details of the financial relations between the two writers are not precisely known, but after the death of Dumas père, Maquet wrote to his son that “...there were never any monetary misunderstandings between your father and me.” However, in 1851, Maquet sued Dumas, demanding full co-authorship, but the court ruled in favor of Dumas. Communication with the great writer benefited Auguste Maquet. Working alongside him, he underwent a splendid literary school and became the author of several captivating novels and plays. His novel "The Beautiful Gabrielle," in which the main character is the mistress of Henry IV, is a continuation of Dumas's famous trilogy about the Huguenot wars. Maquet seemed to have picked up the baton from the maestro and carried it further. After reading the captivating novel "The Beautiful Gabrielle," you can assume the role of a literary critic and compare Maquet's texts with any chapter from the famous novels of Dumas.
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