
Gen. Thomas-Alexandre Dumas was one of the heroes of the French Revolution, leading armies of thousands in triumph through the snows of the Alps and the sands of Egypt. Today, he is almost forgotten, though he lives on in his son's stories. The son of a Haitian slave and a French nobleman, this mixed-race swordsman was the father of novelist Alexandre Dumas, and his adventures helped inspire The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.Tom Reiss' biography of the elder Dumas explores the real-life adventures behind these classic novels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas-Alexandre_Dumas
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/sep/28/black-count-tom-reiss-review