8 h 16 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if your only dream is to grow a flower, but a neighbour’s envy puts your life at risk?
In the Dutch Republic, Cornelius van Baerle wants nothing more than to grow a black tulip and win the prize at Haarlem. But the country is at war, a mob turns on the De Witt brothers, and a sealed packet left by his godfather draws this gentle gardener into danger.
His neighbour Isaac Boxtel watches through a telescope, hungry for the same prize. At Loevestein prison, Cornelius meets Rosa, the harsh jailer’s clever, kind daughter. In The Black Tulip, Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet bring a political storm close to home, where a flower, a friendship and a growing love give hope something concrete to hold.
What you’ll discover
- A dream worth tending Follow a patient gardener whose love of flowers faces forces far beyond his garden.
- Envy across the fence Watch Boxtel’s jealous attention turn a shared passion into a dangerous rivalry.
- Rosa’s kindness and courage Meet a jailer’s daughter who learns to read and wants to help a prisoner.
- A country in crisis Step from the angry crowds of The Hague into the confines of a fortress prison.
- Love under hard conditions Discover a warm romance where trust grows in the shadow of suspicion.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like historical adventure with a warm heart, short chapters and a clear contest between kindness and envy. It may feel slow if you want large battles or deep political detail, because the politics stay in the background.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A mob murders the brothers De Witt
- A gardener cares only for tulips
- Envy next door grows into a plot
- A sealed packet puts a life at risk
- In prison, Rosa becomes his friend
- What the story says and how it is told
Who’s who
- Cornelius van BaerleA kind and wealthy tulip grower from Dordrecht who wants only to grow a black tulip and win the prize at Haarlem.
- RosaThe jailer's daughter at Loevestein, clever and kind, who learns to read and wants to help the prisoner she comes to trust.
- Isaac BoxtelVan Baerle's jealous neighbour, also a tulip grower, who longs for the prize and watches his rival with a telescope.
- GryphusThe harsh head jailer of Loevestein, who rules his prisoners with suspicion and is fiercely protective of his daughter.
- Cornelius de WittVan Baerle's godfather, a Dutch statesman who leaves a sealed packet with him before the mob comes.
- Johan de WittCornelius's brother and a former leader of the Dutch Republic, hated by the crowd that supports the Prince of Orange.
- William of OrangeThe young Prince who rises to power in the Republic as the De Witt brothers fall.
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- Large print hardcover
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Il tulipano nero
by Alexandre Dumas; Auguste Maquet· 1850
An imprisoned flower grower struggles to raise a black tulip.
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Language: Italiano
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A mob murders the brothers De Witt
The story opens in The Hague in 1672. The Dutch Republic is at war, and the people blame their leaders. Johan de Witt, the former Grand Pensionary, and his brother Cornelius are the targets of that anger. The crowd supports the young Prince William of Orange, who is waiting for power.
Cornelius de Witt has been accused of plotting against the Prince and is held in prison. His brother Johan comes to visit him. Outside, the mob gathers, and Dumas shows how quickly a street can turn from talk to violence. The brothers are dragged out and killed, and this event is real history.
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The author
Alexandre Dumas
1802–1870 · French novelist and playwright
Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) was a French novelist and playwright. He was born in Villers-Cotterêts, lived in Paris, and died in Puys, near Dieppe. He wrote The Three Musketeers (1844), The Count of Monte Cristo (1844–1846), Twenty Years After (1845), and The Black Tulip (1850).
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What is The Black Tulip about?
It follows Cornelius van Baerle, a Dutch tulip grower in the 1670s, who is caught up in political violence after the murder of the De Witt brothers. He is jailed, while a rival and a prize for a black tulip drive the plot.
Is The Black Tulip based on a true story?
Partly. The murder of Johan and Cornelius de Witt in The Hague in 1672 is real history, and tulip growing was a Dutch passion. Van Baerle, Rosa and Boxtel are invented characters.
When was The Black Tulip written?
It was published in 1850 by Alexandre Dumas, who worked with Auguste Maquet. Dumas wrote it at the height of his career, after his well-known novels of the 1840s.
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