Taking the Bastile

What It's About

Set in 1789 as Paris teeters on the edge of revolt, this novel follows the young peasant Ange Pitou and his friend, the farmer Billot, after government agents seize papers belonging to the mysterious Dr. Gilbert. Their journey to warn Gilbert leads them to Paris, where they find him imprisoned in the Bastille — and are swept into the crowd that storms the fortress. The story then shifts to Versailles, where Gilbert becomes entangled in the crumbling court of Louis XVI and a secret involving one of Marie Antoinette's ladies-in-waiting. It is the fourth entry in Dumas's Marie Antoinette Romances, continuing directly from the events of "The Queen's Necklace."

Key Concepts

The novel dramatizes the fall of the Bastille as both a historical turning point and a symbol of feudal oppression finally breaking under the weight of popular anger. Running beneath the revolutionary plot is a thread of mesmerism and occult conspiracy, inherited from earlier volumes in the series, involving the mysterious Count Balsamo (Cagliostro) and his influence over Dr. Gilbert. Dumas blends real historical figures — including Marie Antoinette and the Marquis de Lafayette — with invented characters to give the Revolution's opening chapter a human, ground-level view.

About the Author

Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) was a French novelist and playwright of mixed French and Haitian descent, and one of the most widely read authors of nineteenth-century France, known for blending real history with fast-paced, romantic adventure.

About This Edition

This is an 1891 translation by Henry Llewellyn Williams.