Vaninka by Alexandre Dumas
This book contains ‘Vaninka’ by Alexandre Dumas – originally published in 1839 as part of the ‘Celebrated Crimes’ Series.
Alexandre Dumas was fascinated by the biggest and most gruesome crimes in history – and here, in ‘Vaninka’ is the true story of brutal torture and execution from St. Petersburg, Russia.
Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) was a famous French writer. He is best remembered for his exciting romantic sagas, including “The Three Musketeers” and “The Count of Monte Cristo”. Despite making a great deal of money from his writing, Dumas was almost perpetually penniless thanks to his extravagant lifestyle. The works of Alexandre Dumas have since been translated into nearly a hundred different languages, and have inspired over two hundred motion pictures.
Many vintage texts such as “Vaninka” are becoming increasingly rare and expensive, and it is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now, in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition. It comes complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.
Excerpt from ‘Vaninka’:
“About the end of the reign of the Emperor Paul I—that is to say, towards the middle of the first year of the nineteenth century—just as four o’clock in the afternoon was sounding from the church of St. Peter and St. Paul, whose gilded vane overlooks the ramparts of the fortress, a crowd, composed of all sorts and conditions of people, began to gather in front of a house which belonged to General Count Tchermayloff, formerly military governor of a fair-sized town in the government of Pultava. The first spectators had been attracted by the preparations which they saw had been made in the middle of the courtyard for administering torture with the knout. One of the general’s serfs, he who acted as barber, was to be the victim. Although this kind of punishment was a common enough sight in St. Petersburg, it nevertheless attracted all passers-by when it was publicly administered. This was the occurrence which had caused a crowd, as just mentioned, before General Tchermayloff’s house.”
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Here, at Alexandre Dumas Works, you can find the best of this of this scintillating author’s historical novels, essays, plays, and travel books.
We also have a biography of Alexandre Dumas, recounting a personal life almost as tumultuous as the fiction he penned, as well as a constantly updated selection of his quotes, anecdotes, and wisdom.
Through republishing works such as ‘Vaninka’, it is hoped that the writing of this most widely read of French authors, can continue to delight – almost two centuries after its initial publication.
