Alexandre DumasThe Lady of the Camellias(La Dame aux Camélias) Alexandre Dumas was born in 1824, the illegitimate son ofCatherine Lebay, a dressmaker, and Alexandre Dumas, the author of The ThreeMusketeers, Ten Years Later, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The Count of MonteCristo. His parents lived together for only a short time after his birth, buthis mother gave him a loving and secure home. Later, his father sent him toboarding school; Dumas fils was very unhappy there and described hisexperiences in L’Affaire Clemenceau (1866). Dumas fils left school in 1840 and went to live with hisfather, who was then at the height of his fame. He treated his son as acontemporary and together they threw themselves into the delights of bohemiansociety. It was during this time that Dumas fils became the lover ofMarie Dupleissis, a well-known courtesan who always wore white camellias. Shehad come to Paris as an uneducated, penniless country girl and had become themistress of a string of men ascending from restaurateur to duke. She was sweptoff her feet by the refreshing youthfulness of Dumas’ passion but their liaisonfinished in 1846 just six months before Marie died of tuberculosis at the ageof twenty-three.Dumas had written Les Aventures de Quatre Femmes et d’unPerroquet in 1847, but it might as well have concerned a dead parrot for allthe interest it aroused. The success of his second novel, La Dame aux Camélias,however, was immediate and sensational. In the book - written in three weeks -Dumas romanticized his love for Marie, and Paris society, which had followed hercareer with interest, and was keen to read what was clearly a fictionalizedaccount by her young lover. Dumas adapted the novel for the stage the following year,but he had to wait three years before the censors allowed its performance.During the wait, Dumas wrote a clutch of novels with little success, but theproduction of La Dame aux Camélias at the Vaudeville in 1852 made hisreputation. The play was a smash hit, and the next year Verdi was inspired tocapture the passion of Armand and Marguerite, renamed Violetta, in his opera,La Traviata. In 1855 Dumas’ Le Demi-Monde was the first play to tackle asocial problem - in this case, the effects of prostitution on marriage. Dumas marriedPrincess Narishkine, a Russian, and had two daughters, but later lived apartfrom his wife. In 1857 Dumas was made a member of the Académie Française. Hepublished pamphlets on divorce and prostitution, which were influential in therevision of the French marriage laws. In 1895 Dumas’ wife died and he married Mme. Regnier de laBrise, whom he had loved for many years. But in November of the same year Dumasdied of meningitis. Although his output of plays and essays was prolific, it isfor La Dame aux Camélias that Dumas is remembered. He was so moved by SarahBernhardt’s performance in the title role in 1884 that he gave her an earlyedition of the book and a letter he had written to Marie Dupleissis expressingregret that their love affair was doomed. He had ended the letter, ‘Millesouvenirs. A.D.’ Notes by Lesley Young A familiar voice on Naxos AudioBooks, Laura Paton trained atLAMDA where she won the St. Phillip’s Prize for Poetry and the Michael WarreAward. She has toured the UK extensively in productions as varied as The TwoGentlemen of Verona and Oscar Wilde’s Salomé. Daniel Philpott trained at LAMDA and after success in theprestigious Carleton Hobbs Award for Radio Drama recorded for BBC Radio 4 andother broadcast work. His theater work includes productions on the Londonfringe. Award-winning actor Nigel Anthony has worked in televisionand in theater, with the RSC and with Alan Ayckbourn at Scarborough. He is,however, best known for his numerous broadcasts on BBC Radio. For many years hehas been one of the leading actors in that medium and as a master of vocaldisguise has played countless character roles. Heather Bell has worked in repertory companies all over GreatBritain and has toured as far afield as Kenya. Regularly seen in London’s WestEnd and on British TV, she is also known for her many leading parts in BBCRadio Drama - notably for creating and playing the role of Clarrie Grundy in‘The Archers’ for five years. Writer, actor, director, and frequent reader for NaxosAudioBooks, Bill Homewood’s record of leading classical roles with majorrepertoire companies includes Fester and Orsino in Twelfth Night (RSC), Oberon,Banquo and the joint lead in The Boys from Syracuse at the Open Air Theatre. Aguitarist and singer, he has also appeared in numerous musicals, among themJesus Christ Superstar. His TV credits include Spy Trap, Crocodile Shoes, andhis own series, Wise Guy. Polly Hayes trained at LAMDA. Since then she has been activein British theatre (from Moliere to Chekhov) and made numerous television andradio appearances in the UK.