Alexandre DUMAS (father) (1802 - 1870), French writer and playwright
Autograph manuscript "Le Corsaire". Slnd; 2 folio pages.
Fragment of his opera "Le Corsaire", dialogue of 57 lines between the pirate Conrad and his lover Medora, the lovers of the Corsair of Byron.
In this excerpt Médora lets himself go to sleep in Conrad's arms: "Conrad with despair: Sleep ... is death! ... Médora: No, death has not been so sweetly affected." To my troubled mind… in new hues. Each object vaguely comes to offer itself in turn. I have sweet memories of happiness and love (…) ”
The Corsair, a three-song poem by Lord Byron published in 1814, was a resounding success upon its release with ten thousand copies sold on day one. The story is that of Conrad, a Greek misanthropic pirate, feared and respected by his men who secretly lives a love shared with Medora. Party to fight against the Turkish Pasha, he spares the women of the harem but ends up being captured. The pasha's favorite slave, Gulnare, seduced by the pirate, frees him by assassinating the pasha. Returning home with Gulnare, he learns to his great despair that Medora committed suicide, mad with grief, he runs away and disappears.