The Memoirs of a Physician: Amazon.ca: Alexandre Dumas: Books

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5.0 out of 5 stars Dumas Rocks! But doesn't he always?, Aug 7 2008

By	Misfit (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Memoirs of a Physician (Paperback)

Memoirs of a Physician begins where Joseph Balsamo left off as all Paris panics after a fireworks display goes awry and Andr�e is almost crushed to death beneath the mob. Andr�e's brother Phillip desperately searches for her and is feared dead - until she is returned unharmed to her family by the mysterious Balsamo. Lower born Gilbert is still madly in love with Andr�e and he follows her (working as a gardener) when she is taken into service by Marie Antoinette. Madame DuBarry continues her schemes, as does the mysterious Balsamo working with the Freemasons to stir unrest against the monarchy and lustful Louis XV takes one look at the beauteous Andr�e and he plots with her father to make her his latest conquest.

Actually, there's a whole lot more to the story than that but this is Dumas and it would take another novel to try to outline the story better. Suffice it to say that as in the first book in this series, the opulence and shenanigans of the French Court, the manipulations of the politicians, Balsamo's hypnotic control over his wife Lorenza and Andr�e, secret rooms and hidden staircases, a mad desire by Balsamo's master to obtain the one horrific ingredient needed to complete his elixir of eternal life culminates in a thoroughly unputdownable tale that had me reading well into the wee hours of the morning. I especially loved Gilbert's antics (ROFL, Hollywood would have a field day with this) as he spied on Andr�e and the way Dumas used her contempt of his lower status as a way to emphasize the growing disparity between the classes. Next up in the series, The Queen's Necklace.

Side note on the first two books in this series - as I understand it they were originally published in one volume called Memoirs of a Physician and are now published separately as Joseph Balsamo and Memoirs of a Physician. I've noticed some complaints from other reviewers on the quality of editing and translation of some of these newly published editions and went searching for an older copy and was quite happy with that.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Well Worth the Read, April 18 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Memoirs of a Physician (Paperback)

After reading Alexandre Dumas' popular works "The Three Musketeers", "Twenty Years After", "The Vicomte de Bragellone", and "The Count of Monte Cristo", continued reading to delve into his more obscure novels is a rewarding experience. "Memoirs of a Physician" proves to be an unexpected detour from the standard type of intrigue in Dumas' most noted writings. After reading "Memoirs" one would almost find it appropriate to label the twists and turns in the aforementioned works as "shallow". In this book, the first in the series of the Marie Antoinette Romances, the reader experiences a look into darker and more sinister events which ultimately led to the French Revolution. "Memoirs of a Physician" exudes suspense, alliances and betrayals, humor, romance, longing to be and the becoming itself - all of the qualities that place Dumas' novels among the greatest works of all time.

The Memoirs of a Physician (Paperback)

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