La Maison de Savoie


Le site web Alexandre Dumas père	The Alexandre Dumas père Web Site

Dumas\|Oeuvres\|Gens\|Galerie\|Liens	Dumas\|Works\|People\|Gallery\|Links

La Maison de Savoie

roman/novel, pub:1852-1856, action:1555-1850

From A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père by Frank Wild Reed:
The first volume of this large work bears on its title-page the inscription :—

La
MAISON DE SAVOIE,
Depuis 1555, Jusqu'à 1850.
Roman Historique,
par
Alexandre Dumas.
. . .
Édition illustrée d'environ 200 dessins.
. . .
Vol. I.
Turin
Publié par G. Perrin, Éditeur,
Rue de la Vierge aux Anges, 3.
1852.

The three subsequent volumes are content with the more brief wording :—

La
MAISON DE SAVOIE,
Roman Historique,
par
Alexandre Dumas.
etc.

     Vols. I. and II. comprise the actual first edition of "Le Page du Duc de Savoie" (though here entitled "Emmanuel Philibert, ou la France et l'Italie au XVIe, Siècle"), with the addition of 61 pages of connective matter, of an historical nature, between this and the following romance. This matter, evidently by Dumas, is divided into four chapters, following the Epilogue :—
         Un mot à nos lecteurs.
         Victor Amédée 1er.
         Régence de Madame Royale Christine de France.
         Régence de Madame Royale Christine de France.
     Vol. I. consists of 513 pp. and tables. Vol. II., of half its bulk, has but 273 pp. and tables.
     Vols. III. and IV., of which a description follows, consist respectively of 552 and 672 pp., in both these instances with the tables of contents included in the pagination.
     Vol. III. contains :—
         a. Avis à mes Lecteurs. (Certainly written by Dumas.) Pp. 5 to 12.
         b. "Mémoires de Jeanne d'Albert de Luynes, Comtesse de Verrue, Surnommée Dame de Volupté." Pp. 13 to 339.
         c. "Charles Emmanuel III., ou La France et l'Italie depuis 1730 jusqu'à, 1773." Pp. 341 to 548.
     The text is followed by four pages of tables. The "Mémoires de Jeanne d'Albert" is, with some reservations to be noted, the work included in Dumas' "Œuvres Completes" as "La Dame de Volupté," with some of the earlier chapters of "Les Deux Reines."
     In the standard edition the "Avant-Propos" differs slightly from the "Avis à mes Lecteurs" of "La Maison de Savoie," and the following variations may be noted :—
     Chapter I. is much abridged in "La Maison."
     Chapters II. and III. differ slightly.
     Chapter VI. has omissions in both versions.
     Chapter VII. has slight omissions and variations
     Chapters VIII. to XVII. (inclusive) in the "Œuvres" are entirely lacking in "La Maison."
     Chapters XVIII. and XIX. in the standard edition (which become VIII. and IX. in "La Maison") contain slight differences. Chapters XXI., XXIII., XXIV. and XXVI. (which are numbered XI., XIII., XIV. and XVI. in "La Maison") contain slight omissions.
     Chapter XXVIII. (XVIII. in "La Maison") begins, in the respective versions, at different places; there are also some omissions.
     Chapters XXX., XXXI., XXXII., XXXIII. and XXXIV. are wholly wanting in "La Maison."
     Chapter XX, of "La Maison" commences in the middle of Chapter XXXVI. of the "Œuvres."
     Chapter XXXVII. (Chapter XXI. of "La Maison") has slight differences.
     Chapter XXXVIII. (Chapter XXII. of "La Maison") omits several passages to be found in the earlier Italian printing.
     Chapters XXXIX. to XLV. (which become XXIII. to XXIX. in "La Maison") are unaltered. This finishes "La Dame de Volupté" of the standard edition of Dumas' works.
     The remainder of the text of this romance in "La Maison de Savoie" consists of Chapters I. to VII. of "Les Deux Reines" (in the standard edition) and they are then numbered XXX. to XXXVI. In the last of these chapters the conclusion is slightly varied from the portion in the "Œuvres Complètes." Vol. IV. contains :—
         a. "Victor Amédée III., ou la France et l'Italie depuis 1773 jusqu'en 1796." Pp. 5 to 286.
         b. "Charles Emmanuel IV., ou la France et l'Italie depuis 1796 jusqu'en 1802." Pp. 287 to 460.
         c. "Victor Emmanuel I., ou la France et l'Italie depuis 1814 jusqu'en 1821." Pp. 461 to 552.
         d. "Charles Félix, ou la France et l'Italie depuis 1821 jusqu'en 1831." Pp. 553 to 570.
         e. "Charles Albert, ou la France et l'Italie depuis 1831 jusqu'en 1849." Pp. 571 to 666.
         Six pages of tables follow.
     The final episode of Vol. III. and the whole of Vol. IV. are apparently quite unknown elsewhere among publications ascribed to Dumas.
     It is strange that there seems to have been no use made elsewhere of the illustrations of these volumes, some of which, especially in the earlier volumes, are very fine.
     The scarcity of the work, unknown to bibliographers for the most part, is doubtless owing to it having been issued in parts.
     Original, and apparently only edition : Turin, C. Perrin, Vol. I., 1852; Vol. II., 1854; Vol. III., 1855; Vol. IV., 1856. The first volume has a fine portrait of Dumas after Giraud, with a facsimile signature.
     The number of illustrations differ in various copies ; there have been losses, but also plates are included which are not mentioned in the table, in at least one copy, that of Mr. R. S. Garnett.
     For "Le Page du Duc de Savoie," see pages 314-15; and for "La Dame de Volupté," pp. 400 and 403, the latter dealing with "Les Deux Reines."

Contactez-nous/Contact Us