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Alexandre Dumas
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The Queen's Necklace Paperback – May 1, 2001

by Alexandre Dumas (Author)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 122 ratings
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The Queen's Necklace is a novel by Alexandre Dumas that was published in 1849 and 1850 (immediately following the French Revolution of 1848). It is loosely based on the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, an episode involving fraud and royal scandal that made headlines at the court of Louis XVI in the 1780s.

The novel first appeared in serialised form in La Presse. The story takes place between 1784 and 1785. It is the second in a series of four novels focused on the character of Cagliostro, presented by Dumas as the man pulling all the strings of the affair.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    436 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    International Law and Taxation Publishers
  4. Publication date
    May 1, 2001
  5. Dimensions
    5.04 x 1.09 x 7.56 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1589632095
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1589632097
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ International Law and Taxation Publishers (May 1, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 436 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1589632095
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1589632097
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.04 x 1.09 x 7.56 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 122 ratings

About the author

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Alexandre Dumas

Alexandre Dumas

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Alexandre Dumas, born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie; (24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas, père, was a French writer. His works have been translated into nearly 100 languages, and he is one of the most widely read French authors. Many of his historical novels of high adventure were originally published as serials, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later. His novels have been adapted since the early twentieth century for nearly 200 films. Dumas' last novel, The Knight of Sainte-Hermine, unfinished at his death, was completed by a scholar and published in 2005, becoming a bestseller. It was published in English in 2008 as The Last Cavalier

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
122 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Michael Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars The Queen's Necklace did not disappoint. It is a multifaceted story that keeps your ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2015
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Having read many of Dumas' works, I have a certain expectation that his sharp wit and eloquent way of painting pictures in my mind will be a part of any new book of his that I read. The Queen's Necklace did not disappoint. It is a multifaceted story that keeps your interest and spawns many theories in your mind as you go. It comes together rather surprisingly fast in the end though. I moved from this book to Taking The Bastile. It seems Dumas was incapable of bad writing.
2 people found this helpful
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Here-N-Now
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Dumas!
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2013
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This is an intriguing look into Marie Antoinette's time - fun, light and totally entwined with intrigues, back-stabbing, plotting, politics, honor, laced with royalty. I would recommend skipping the first chapter as it can be confusing, at least it was for me. Let's just say it differed greatly from the rest of the book. I think he was attempting retro-active staging, but it failed - for me anyway. At times it was hard to keep up because the characters entered so quickly.
The book is a wonderful romp through royal plots and parallel plans - the challenge is to see who comes out on top and how. The twists are surreal, making you wonder how much of this was based on true stories of the times and how much is fiction.
4 people found this helpful
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Misfit
3.0 out of 5 stars A mediocre translation or was Dumas having a bad-book day? *Review for Wildside Press Edition*
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2008
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Inquiring minds want to know, although I'm going to lean towards the former. The Queen's Necklace begins ten years after the close of  Memoirs of a Physician , as France recovers from the grips of a deadly winter and Marie Antoinette takes pity on Jeanne de Valois who claims to be descended from the Valois side of the monarchy, albeit from the wrong side of the blanket. Jeanne soon takes up with Cardinal de Rohan who in an effort to ingratiate himself at court offers the stunning necklace originally intended as a gift for the infamous Madame du Barry to the Queen. Thus begins Dumas' take on the well known "Affair of the Diamond Necklace" which scandalized France and further degraded public opinion of the monarchy.

Dumas brings characters from the first two books into this story, as the mysterious Balsamo reappears under the new name of Count Cagliostro, Andrée resides at court in service to Marie and falls in love with the Count de Charny (who loves the Queen) and Philip (called Philippe in this book) returns from America and also finds himself madly in love with the Queen. Andrée's former servant Nicole (who bears a striking resemblance to the Queen) now goes by the name of Oliva and is drawn into Jeane's schemes as she masquerades as the Queen setting off further scandals, and eventually Marie and de Charny are caught in a compromising position which leads to a drastic ploy by Marie to save both herself and de Charny. Will this ploy fulfill the secret desire of our heroine Andrée, or does a twist of fate forever change her happiness to great sorrow? I'll never tell, but that was one heck of a plot twist!

Unfortunately, what should have been a ripping good read was ruined by a dreadful translation. I've read many works of Dumas and his storylines always move quickly with plentiful action and sparkling dialogue and displays the foibles and machinations of the French Monarchy to perfection. This book was stilted, slow paced with some of the most un-Dumas like dialogue I've ever come across. Worse yet, since most chapters were 3-4 pages long (this from an author who was paid by the word!!??) and from comparing the page count of this version (329) to that of another (432) I'm guessing quite a bit of the story was left out, and frankly I would have bailed on the book except for the fact that I intend to read the rest of the series and didn't want to lose the story. The first two in the series of six I've read were much older publications, published in the early 1900's by P.F. Collier and Son. If you are interested in reading the entire series I recommend you check your library and/or shop the online used sellers for one of those copies. Next up in the series,  Taking the Bastile .

I do want to note that this review is for the Wildside Press edition and my comments about translation problems should not be reflected against other publishers of this book. I'm stating this as I notice that any reviews posted for one version of this book are showing up on others, and I suspect my review will show up on those editions as well.
19 people found this helpful
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MrsPiddles
5.0 out of 5 stars Another classic
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2014
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I chose this book because I actually loved Alexander Dumas as a child. The writing is formal, which carries me into another world. The action is clearly European, not as action packed as a western. The plot is difficult to follow, unless you know what to look for. I recommend this to anyone who studies the arts and the craft of writing.
3 people found this helpful
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K. Spangler
2.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite.
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2014
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This book bored me to distraction. I know this is a true event from history, but I just didn't think the queen would talk and behave in that fashion. I also got sick of every man in the novel being so in love with the queen, he was half mad. If you really want to read Dumas at his best, pick up The Count of Monte Cristo and skip this one.
2 people found this helpful
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Redeemed By The Blood Of The Lamb
5.0 out of 5 stars Love Love Love Dumas!
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2013
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Wonderful author, paints a rich picture in his writing. Truly a can't put it down until you're done kind of author!
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Joleen
1.0 out of 5 stars Too slow
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2009
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I love old English period book plots. That being said, I read about 100 pages of the Queens Necklace and wondered if it was ever going anywhere. I couldn't take it anymore, I deleted it. If anyone else has read it and finds it finally had a plot and an actual culmination, please let me know. Reluctantly I may try to pick it back up again... but there are too many other good things to read!
3 people found this helpful
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Noyam
4.0 out of 5 stars If you enjoy Historical Fiction this is for you!
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2013
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Typically, historical fiction set in the 1700's thru 1910 or so always includes the restrictions of
class and gender bias as well as the, correct for the times, limitations and manners. I think that is why I enjoy this type of novel. The Quee's Necklace was full of these restrictions which I think makes the story more interesting. I enjoyed this book very much. I had trouble figuring out who was who and remembering all the names, but the story was facinating. I have never heard anything good about Marie Antoinett except that she was considered beautiful. I don't know how much truth was in this story but it was interesting to imagine her as having virtue and intelligence. I would have substracted a half star due to the problem of keeping all the names straight, but I had to choose between 4 and 5. I choose 5 because it wasn't really the author's fault that I wasn't up to speed with the names. Also, it wasn't all that bad. At least the book didn't have a lot of french sentences where you couldn't figure what was being said if you don't know French. Read it, it's good and it's free.
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Top reviews from other countries

Cristina Gheorghe
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing story!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2020
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As always, Alexandre Dumas never fails to keep you interested in his story!
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Maureen Cunliffe
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in Canada on October 26, 2014
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Not as exciting as I imaged
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londonlady
2.0 out of 5 stars Difficult to read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2024
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I found this unreadable so didn't last long on the bookshelf. Next time I will persevere but bought it for a bookclub and everyone else found it equally difficult.
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