Alexandre Dumas, père, born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (July
24, 1802 – December 5, 1870) was a French writer, best known for
his numerous historical novels of high adventure which have made
him one of the most widely read French authors in the world. Many
of his novels, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three
Musketeers, and The Man in the Iron Mask were serialized, and he
also wrote plays and magazine articles and was a prolific
correspondent.