Alexandre Dumas

The Borgias Alexandre Dumas

His father's aristocratic rank helped young Alexandre acquire work with Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans. He later began working as a writer, finding early success. Decades later, in the election of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte in 1851, Dumas fell from favor and left France for Belgium, where he stayed for several years. Upon leaving Belgium Dumas moved to Russia for a few years before going to Italy. In 1861 he founded and published the newspaper L' Indipendente, which supported the Italian unification effort. In 1864 he returned to Paris.