Alexandre Dumas son / Signed autograph letter / The Lady of the Camellias / Cocotte

  

Autograph letter signed "A Dumas" to a Mr. D [Paris], 5 pages in-8 on two double sheets. Traces of folds due to original mailing, slight ink smudges. A long and remarkable letter from Dumas fils regarding his work as an author and "La Dame aux camélias.

"

Sir,

I am very flattered and deeply touched by the terms of your letter and the request you honor me with, but you are greatly mistaken if you believe I have any authority in legislative matters. Alas, sir, I may, through my good faith and sometimes even my paradoxes, present, in a certain way, excite the curiosity, common sense, and even the sympathy of a few scattered readers here and there; official and serious figures sometimes even pillage my thoughts without saying so, of course, but what does it matter? Provided that ideas continue their path, but from the day I would wish to officially take my turn in a discussion treated by professionals like Mr. Lesbone and us, I would do the greatest harm to the issue and to those men.

I do not exist in politics or philosophy; one must see how newspapers of all shades treat me.

They agree on this point: that I know nothing of the matters I involve myself with. They send me back to my "Dame aux camélias," to my courtesans, and when I return to it, they gather at the theater to boo me and make me pay for my prefaces and brochures. This cannot give you an idea of the very sincere contempt that the public holds, from the highest figure to the most insignificant, for a dramatic author charged with amusing them, making them digest and laugh, but ultimately without substance and with no right to speak on certain matters.

I am only passing through Paris. If I had been sure of finding you at home, I would have come to tell you everything I am writing to you, as well as what one does not have the time to write.

I will leave Paris on Monday if you would like us to talk either at your place or mine, in the morning or during the day between 2 and 5 PM. I will only have errands to run in Paris.

Please accept, sir, the assurance of my distinguished sentiments.

"La Dame aux camélias" is a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils published in 1848 when he was only 25 years old. It is inspired by his love for the courtesan Marie Duplessis.

The work inspired Verdi's opera "La Traviata." Many actresses have portrayed the character, from Sarah Bernhardt to Isabelle Adjani and Isabelle Huppert, including Lillian Gish and Greta Garbo.

Letters from Dumas fils referring to "La Dame aux camélias" are rare.