8 h 16 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 16 minPaperback · 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.
Who will love it
Readers who love warmhearted historical adventures, gardens, or tender romances across prison walls will enjoy this book. It also suits Dumas fans who relish sharp villains and loyal friends.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A mob in The Hague turns on the De Witts
- A gentle tulip grower makes a bitter enemy
- A secret letter sends the godson to the scaffold
- A reprieve at the block leads to Loewestein
- Lessons at the grating bring two hearts close
- Eight days apart teach Van Baerle what he loves
- The flower opens black and is stolen the same night
- Envy and obsession drive the whole plot
- Love, loyalty and justice stand against the mob
- How Dumas tells the tale with wit and suspense
Who’s who
- Cornelius van BaerleA rich, gentle tulip grower from Dort who wants to breed a black tulip and cares little for politics.
- Rosa GryphusA Frisian jailer's daughter who cannot read at first, helps the prisoner, and wants to keep his tulip and his love safe.
- Isaac BoxtelVan Baerle's envious neighbor, a tulip grower who wants the prize and the fame his rival is winning.
- GryphusThe rough, spiteful jailer who hates scholars and prisoners and wants to keep his daughter under his thumb.
- Cornelius de WittVan Baerle's godfather, a Dutch statesman who entrusts a dangerous parcel to his godson before the mob comes for him.
- John de WittThe Grand Pensionary, Cornelius's brother, who tries to save him and hold the Republic together.
- William of OrangeThe cool young Prince who rises to power as Stadtholder and holds the fates of the prisoner and the tulip.
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The Black Tulip
by Alexandre Dumas; Auguste Maquet · 1850
In a Dutch prison, a jailer's daughter learns to read so she can save a prisoner's black tulip.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
Imagine a crowd so angry that it tears two statesmen apart in the street, while a quiet gardener a few towns away dreams only of a flower no one has ever seen. That contrast opens The Black Tulip, a historical novel set in the Dutch Republic in 1672 and 1673.
The Black Tulip at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 35 min3 h 35 min fast, 5 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 64,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1850by Alexandre Dumas; Auguste Maquet
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A mob in The Hague turns on the De Witts
In August 1672 the Dutch Republic is battered by war with Louis XIV of France. The people blame John de Witt and his brother Cornelius, and they turn toward young William of Orange as a savior. Cornelius has already endured the rack on a false charge, and the judges spare his life. But the crowd wants more than exile.
Count Tilly, a French officer, holds the prison with his horsemen and refuses to let the armed burghers pass without an order. A delegation returns from the Town Hall waving a paper that sends his men away. Tilly says its signers are the real murderers, and obeys.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1850
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 20 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Dumas, Alexandre, and Auguste Maquet. The Black Tulip. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-black-tulip.
Dumas, A., & Maquet, A. (2026). The black tulip. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-black-tulip (Original work published 1850)
Dumas, Alexandre, and Auguste Maquet. The Black Tulip. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-black-tulip.
@book{dumas2026black,
author = {Dumas, Alexandre and Maquet, Auguste},
title = {The Black Tulip},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-black-tulip},
note = {First published 1850}
}
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What is The Black Tulip about?
It follows a Dutch tulip grower named Cornelius van Baerle, who is drawn into politics by a secret parcel, jailed, and given a chance to grow the first black tulip with help from the jailer's daughter.
Is The Black Tulip a true story?
Partly. The murder of the De Witt brothers in 1672, William of Orange and the Dutch tulip craze are real history. Van Baerle, Rosa and Boxtel are invented characters whom Dumas places in that setting.
Who is Isaac Boxtel and what does he want?
Boxtel is Van Baerle's neighbor in Dort, a tulip grower who envies his talent. He wants the hundred thousand guilder prize and the fame of naming the black tulip, and he will inform, trespass and steal to get it.
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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